You, From Long Ago
by KyraX
Summary: Four people become unlikely friends due to work and love. Ichigo Kurosaki, a homicide detective in Tokyo Police Department, went on a date with Rukia Kuchiki, a director in the Kuchiki conglomerate. They meet again at a wedding and they make a bet to bring a worthy date. But they accidentally bring in two awkward exes. And when murder comes into play, a topsy turvy story begins.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Holy crap! I'm late! I'm late!"

A raven haired women panicked as she bolted through the streets of Tokyo. She occasionally glanced at her smart watch, counting down the seconds that passed by. Crap! Her college buddy was going to regret making her a bridesmaid. What even gave her the idea that she would make a reliable bridesmaid?

Rukia Kuchiki was the director of the Kuchiki Health Initiative, a sector of the Kuchiki Group, where her brother stood as the CEO. This meant long hours working and lots of studying for her business degree, leading to virtually her work as her life. She had important shoes to improve so she had to make sure everything was perfect. So this bridesmaids business was such a huge distraction and she begged Orihime to drop her!

But no.

Orihime insisted that Rukia must be a part of her bridal party. So here she was, rushing as fast as she could to the wedding rehearsal.

Rukia burst through Orihime and Uryu's home and into their backyard…where they already started.

"Rukia!" Orihime jumped when her friend interrupted the wedding procession.

"Orihime, I'm sorry I'm so late. There was an emergency meeting with the board and my brother was there. It was a huge mess. I tried to keep it short and simple and I ran here as fast as I could-"

"It's okay! It's okay!" Orihime quickly said as she nudged her friend in line. "You're about to walk soon. Your partner is Ichigo Kurosaki. He's my friend from high school. You'll love him!"

Ichigo Kurosaki… Wait. That name sounded familiar…

"R-Rukia…" An orange haired man, who stood two heads above her, approached Rukia.

"Ichigo…uh…long time no see."

"Hey!" Orihime shouted. "Are you guys going to walk?"

"Oh yeah! Walking." Rukia awkwardly stood next to this man and they started walking down the aisle. However, Ichigo's long strides were making it hard for her to keep up. "Hey! You mind slowing it down?" Rukia muttered under her breath.

"It's not my fault two of your steps equal one of mine."

"Huh. Still a jerk I see."

Uryu turned to his fiancee. "Hey, are you sure about pairing these two up?"

"Well everyone else is paired off and they work well the first walk. They just have to learn." Orihime simply replied. "Great work Rukia and Ichigo! Maybe you guys should practice a little before the wedding?"

"Alright Orihime!" Rukia sweetly said to her friend before reluctantly looking at her partner. "Hey Ichigo…"

"Rukia…"

"So…how's life been?" God. This was awkward! She hadn't seen this guy ever since their awkward first date together. And that date only lasted two hours!

"It's been good. I'm a homicide detective now so no more speeding tickets."

Wow…what a change from the guy she initially met. Really! Ichigo was kind of an obnoxious dick when he first joined the police force. He kept brandishing his gun like an overcompensating wand during the first two minutes they met. It was a wonder how she managed to last two hours with that guy. Maybe his good looks or tall body or something like that…

"I get to solve murders and fight dangerous people. It's hard work. A little stressful at times, but hey, it's something I like doing."

Was he bragging about his new job?

"Well, I'm now director of Kuchiki Health Initiative. It's hard work too; managing a health insurance company, lots of money being shuffled around, and making my mark in the Kuchiki Group conglomerate." Rukia replied back with the same boisterous tone.

An annoyed look scanned right across Ichigo's face. There was the Rukia he knew two years ago. She always waved her heiress status everywhere. She came from a rich family. Her brother was the Byakuya Kuchiki, CEO of Kuchiki Group. She graduated top of her class from Tokyo University, one of the best schools in Japan. She revolutionized the Kuchiki Tokyo sector. Blah, blah, blah. The one thing that annoyed him the most was that stick constantly up her ass. Everything had to be organized, punctual, and professional. Even their first date…

"You're still the same stuck up princess."

"And you're still the same wannabe."

"And this is why we never got a second date." Ichigo said and walked away. "The first date wasn't even that good. What kind of diet doesn't allow sake?"

"All of them actually." Rukia pointed out and then pointed to his hair. "And did you have to freak out when that waiter talked about your hair?"

"He was insulting my hair. That's different."

"But still, you flipped a goddamn table!?"

"So what? That's not as bad as the crap you pulled on that guy. You yelled at him because you didn't like bread!"

"I can't have gluten!" Rukia shrieked back, yet she felt her frown turn into a smirk. "Oh my god. If that's the worst you can think of me, I can't imagine your plus one. She must be too good to be true."

"And your plus one must be a godsend to deal with your anal retentiveness."

Shit! She didn't have a date yet. Rukia suddenly blushed but laughed it off. "Actually, my date is quite a godsend. He's actually better than me at the business."

"Really now?"

"Yeah. He is one of my coworkers and the director of Daiguren Tech. He is also quite the prodigy as he just got that position right out of grad school. And he invented the KuchiGlass, one of the best smart glasses in the tech field. I can get you one if you like."

Well two can play at this game. "I don't need smart glasses. I kind of need to be alert while on the job. But you can get one for my date, it could help her field of expertise."

"You have a date?"

"Yeah. She is a doctor, one of the best neurosurgeons of Tokyo Regional Hospital. She works on saving people's lives and fixing up those brain diseases like…Alzheimer's. And she's a pretty great friend of mine." Ichigo smirked at his creation. He wasn't _fully_ lying…this doctor is a friend.

Rukia merely clicked her tongue. "My date travels a lot because of Kuchiki's business deal with Google. He actually met Mark Wahlberg while in California."

Ichigo just scoffed, "And my date saved the Prime Minister son's life."

"My date is a billionaire! He was once a trillionaire, but he donated too much money."

"My date built a hundred hospitals in Africa! She saved the continent from Ebola."

"My date is so powerful that he can sue Apple!"

"My date is so pretty that she puts all the Angels to shame!"

"My date-!"

"My date-!"

Right now, Rukia and Ichigo were literally face-to-face, puffing and heaving in annoyance of each other. Rukia was steaming from her ears. Ichigo had temple veins ready to burst. And so, the pair stared daggers into each other's eyes for all of six seconds, huffed, and turned away.

"Alright, I would love to meet your wedding date." Rukia said, or more accurately, challenged his pretend date.

"Same. I can't wait to meet your date. I'm sure he is a wonderful guy." Or a wonderful load of bullshit.

* * *

"You said I was a neurosurgeon who saves people's lives including the entire continent of Africa from Ebola…"

"Well Naori…you see…it sounded good while I was bullshitting." Ichigo tried to explain.

Naori Hibana rolled her eyes and scratched her nose in annoyance. She was a short woman with shoulder length dark blue hair and golden eyes. She always seemed to have a sarcastic look permanently stickered on her face, which she was utilizing very well on her coworker. She wore grey scrubs and a doctors coat with medical examiner written on the front pocket, showcasing her true title.

"Okay. First of all, I hate the brain. Everything looks the same and psychology is a bullshit science. Second…I'm going to remind you of my job. I. Am. A. Medical. Examiner!" She slammed her hand on a tray of extremely sharp tools. "I don't save lives because my patients are already dead! I work for the government, not a private hospital. And I've never been to Africa! Where the hell did you even get that idea!?"

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Ichigo frantically stopped his coworker from storming off. "You see, I needed someone good to mess with this girl and you're the best I know. Besides, we have a pretty good relationship, right? I've known you for so long, we should work out?"

"Oh you strawberry," Naori shook her head. "Here is our relationship in a nutshell: I find out how my patients die. You find out why they die. Done. End of story. Bye bye."

"Come on Naori! Just do me this one favor."

Naori glanced back at him, clearly unamused. "Where's your partner? Autopsy's in ten minutes."

"Right here!" A women with spiky black hair and a tomboyish look snuck up behind Ichigo and playfully slapped his back. Her name was Tatsuki Arisawa, one of the toughest women on the force. "Say, what are you two talking about?"

"Nothing really…"

"Ichigo's trying to make me his date for a wedding."

"Eh!? You?" Tatsuki gasped. "But you're not his type."

Ichigo glanced at his partner. "How do you know my type?"

"I know," Naori shot a glare at him. "But he insists on having me as an arm decoration."

"It's just Uryu and Orihime. Hell! I'm not even bringing a date. I have too many responsibilities as the maid of honor." Tatsuki replied with such pride that she was the Orihime's special handmaiden.

"He wants to impress a girl by bringing another girl. Logic, right?"

"Eh? Really now?" Tatsuki cheekily turned to her childhood friend. "Who's the lady? Maybe I know her."

A red blush rose to Ichigo's face. "It's Rukia, one of the bridesmaids."

"Oh her! I remember her! She's a girl you dated a few years ago. I really thought she was your type." Tatsuki mused.

Wait! Rukia? As in Rukia Kuchiki? Naori's ears perked up like an alert kitten once the heiress' name rang. In her eyes, Rukia was the metaphorical dollar sign. Whatever the Kuchiki company touched, the budgets skyrocketed. And the ME Department could use some extra funding right now…

Naori quickly latched onto Ichigo's arm with a cheeky smile plastered across her face. "Okay! I'll be your wedding date!"

"Now you say yes!?"

* * *

Rukia nervously paced around the meeting room as she waited for everyone to show up.

The room was where Kuchiki Group leaders congregated to update Byakuya on the latest happenings in their respective companies. Rukia led the Health Initiative so she dealt with health care, hospitals, clinics and other such establishments. Other members include Jushiro Ukitake, who led a chain of hotels, and Shunsui Kyoraku, who led a chain of department malls. These two were best buds and they always lifted the serious meetings. Sosuke Aizen was the rival business mogul to the Kuchiki Group, but he and Byakuya developed a partnership. There was Byakuya Kuchiki himself, her stoic brother who never really showed his true feelings.

And then, there was the head of Daiguren Tech, previously a small, developing technology company. Byakuya was interested in the company and the people working in it so he decided to pour some money into them. This gave a small independent company a crap ton of money so they were the fastest rising company in the Kuchiki conglomerate. And Rukia was interested in the CEO, Toshiro Hitsugaya.

And the man of the hour just arrived, dressed in a professional gray suit and his spiky white hair was unkempt as usual.

"Kuchiki?" Hitsugaya took notice that she was in the room before him, which was strange since she was always the second to arrive after him. "What are you doing here so early?"

"I uhh need to ask you a question…" Rukia said, "Willyoubemyweddingdate?"

Hitsugaya frowned. "Come again?"

She sighed. "I met an old friend, Ichigo, at a wedding rehearsal and we started arguing and I sold you out as my plus one. So…can you go to this wedding with me?"

"So you involved me in your problems without even asking me first and you expect me to comply?"

"Yes."

"Forget it." Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. "Just because you're the Kuchiki heiress, it doesn't mean I follow your every whim."

"I'm not ordering you. I'm asking for a favor."

"Oh really? What's in it for me?"

"Um…" Crap! She didn't even think of a payment for his services.

"Looks like you haven't thought that far. Just as I expected."

Rukia frowned. There's the smartass CEO she knew from their brief meetings. He was a prodigy and he knew it. Seniority and rank meant nothing to him outside of work. The only person he seemed to always showed respect was Byakuya Kuchiki. On second thought, maybe going to the wedding alone was a better idea.

"How about this? If I go with you to the wedding, you owe me a favor?" Hitsugaya suggested.

At least he's a reasonable and nice guy.

Rukia lit up. "Thank you! I'll be sure to pay you back!"

"No problem."

* * *

Naori applied the final touches to her makeup, making sure her face was glowing naturally. Her dark blue hair was slightly wavy and bouncy, which was perfect for a wedding but professional enough to meet Rukia. This professionalism even went to her clothes, which looked more like a formal dinner dress than casual wedding attire. After getting dressed, she patiently waited for her date to pick her up after the wedding ceremony.

Ichigo finally appeared at her front door. He tiredly rang the bell and answered, "Naori! Open the door and get me some water please."

"Yes sir." Naori replied, mockingly of course, as she opened the door. But she could tell that her partner was really tired since he immediately fell into a slump on her chair. Naori got a glass, placed a couple ice cubes, filled it with chilled water, and gave it to him. "Was it tiring or…?"

"The ceremony? It was probably the longest I ever stood. But hey, Uryu and Orihime are happily married now. That's good. They're the first of our year to get married." Ichigo drank a huge gulp of water. "But then, there was the little bridesmaid I had the pleasure of walking the aisle with."

"Oh come on you strawberry. You're just angry Rukia's stepping on your pride." Naori rolled her eyes.

"Okay. She's not that bad." Ichigo admitted, but the way she liked to wave her elite status around was annoying. "She's just…very high maintenance."

"You talk about her like she's already your girlfriend."

Ichigo spat out his water like a fountain. "Wha-What!? No-Where did-Shut up!" And then this one liked finding ways to piss people off for fun.

Naori merely giggled as his expression. "Oh I'm just kidding. You know me. Remember that time I tricked you into thinking you killed my patient."

"That wasn't funny and I could have arrested you."

"Oh lighten up!" Naori playfully slapped his back. "By the way, how do I look? Do I look impressionable to Rukia?"

"We're going to a wedding reception, not a business dinner. It's supposed to be casual." Ichigo remarked, pointing out her formal peach dress and expensive high heels. He, on the other hand, was wearing a button up shirt with a tie and black pants.

"Well I want to look good for her. Our current budget barely covers the Medical Examiner's department expenses. We're even understaffed at the moment. If I get a partnership with Rukia's company, than we can afford some better equipment and more employees. So yeah, this is really important to me. See!" She held up a small card stamped with her office's logo. "I'm even bringing my business card."

"Alright, alright. I get it." Ichigo patted her head. "Let's get going."

Meanwhile those two were getting ready, Rukia hung out with the maid of honor, Tatsuki Arisawa. Hitsugaya was coming to the reception on his own so she just needed to wait there for him. They were lounging about the reception venue while sipping on wine.

"So I heard about you and Ichigo's little competition…" Tatsuki suddenly mentioned. "It's kind of childish, don't you think?"

Rukia blushed bright pink. She though no one knew. Ichigo must have told Tatsuki since they were good friends. "Yeah, I guess you can say that. But we're in too deep to change now."

"As long as you two and your dates have some fun at this reception, there's no harm done. I hope our little Naori can stand being Ichigo's date. They already clash so much working on cases."

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Rukia's head. "Since when does the police department work with neurosurgeons?"

"What? Neurosurgeon?" Tatsuki laughed. "I don't know what Ichigo told you. But his date, Naori, is a medical examiner and she works with us on homicide cases."

"Of course." Rukia huffed. Then again, she wasn't that much off the hook.

"Unfortunately for you, I'm the one who does the research in our detective partnership. So your date is CEO of Daiguren Tech, Toshiro Hitsugaya. He's not what you call a billionaire…or a millionaire…"

"I know. I know. I'll come clean to Ichigo."

"Good. Now let's have a fun reception tonight!" Tatsuki patted Rukia's back and stood up to leave. "Now I got to go attend to Orihime. Maid of honor duties, you know. I think that guy coming towards us is your date."

And she was right. Rukia saw her date roll up in a white car and he came out dressed in a gray suit. He was a suave guy. He already caught the attention of a few female guests. Rukia smirked as she finished her wine. Once this whole situation gets sorted out, she'll let him loose.

"Kuchiki." Hitsugaya acknowledged as he sat down next to her. "So how long do I have to keep your charade up?"

"None. You're off the hook."

His eyebrow perked. "What's with the change of mind?"

"Ichigo's partner found out. It's only fair that I reveal my cards since he had no choice in the matter." Rukia explained, "I'm not going to continue a play that was childish to begin with."

"Well that's good to know."

"So I don't really need you at this wedding. Sorry to make you come all the way here."

"It's okay actually. I figured why not. It's a free party and I get to meet an old friend again."

Rukia suddenly frowned, mostly out of confusion. "Excuse me?"

"Your charade wasn't going to work from the very beginning. I already calculated it out ever since you missed a crucial detail."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh he's here."

They spotted a tall man with bright orange hair. He was walking from a long distance so they could only see the hair. They could also see a small woman walking beside him. That must be his date.

"Ichigo! I look fine right? Rukia will notice me right?"

"Geez Naori. You look fine." Ichigo complained, "It seems you're trying to impress her even more than me."

"At least my intentions are noble." Naori teased back. However, the woman suddenly halted in her tracks, unable to take another step. Her jaw dropped and her eyes quivered as if she spotted a nightmare in front of her. "Ichigo. Something came up. I need to go!"

"What? You don't have anything today."

"Something with one of my patients came up. I really need to go!" Naori quickly turned around, but Ichigo stopped her in her tracks.

"What about meeting Rukia? You were so excited to meet her."

She definitely wanted to meet Rukia, but someone she never wanted to see again was in the way. "I'm sorry I couldn't be your fake date, but I have to leave you! I can meet her again some other time."

"Wait! Naori! You're not making any sense!" He couldn't see the reason for her sudden panicking. She was perfectly fine before, ecstatic even, but now she just wanted to disappear.

"Please Ichigo!" She tugged away from his grip. "I have to go!"

She looked like she was ready to cry. So Ichigo let her go and let her run off back to work.

"I'm really sorry Ichigo! I'll make it up to you later!" Naori breathed a sigh of relief as she ran to the nearest bus stop. Did fate hate her all of a sudden? It was just horrible luck for her to run into him again!

Ichigo let out a sigh of frustration and ruffled the back of his head. Well, there went his date. It looks like he will have to come clean to Rukia. He could already see that woman sitting with her date. He was a guy just as short as her, wearing a grey suit, and sported messy white hair and big teal eyes… Wait! That guy looked familiar!

"Toshiro!"

"Hey Kurosaki." Hitsugaya waved towards him.

"Wow!" Ichigo quickly ran up to the couple and high fived his friend. He hadn't seen this kid since college! "Toshiro, it's been a while! I didn't know you were dating Rukia."

Hitsugaya scowled at that accusation. "I'm not dating her. I'm her fake date."

Ichigo smirked. He knew it.

"Wipe that smirk off your face. I know you were lying too." Rukia shot back. "Tatsuki told me everything before you came. I was going to come clean too, but it seems Director Hitsugaya beat me to it."

"Director huh? So you also brought a coworker as your fake date." Ichigo remarked, "He may not be as rich as you described him."

Hitsugaya's face seemed to darken at that statement.

"But he's a smart guy. I know because I was his roommate." Ichigo patted Hitsugaya, who lightened up a little.

Yeah…she knew that already. "Well your partner told me about your date. She's not a neurosurgeon, but she's still a doctor so you got that going for you. By the way, why did she run off like that?"

"Something came up at work and she needed to head back." Ichigo explained and he pulled out Naori's business card. "She really wanted to talk to you in particular."

"Why did she want to meet me?" Rukia took the card.

"I don't know the details. But it's just business, that's for sure."

"Alright, I'll be sure to give…Dr. Naori Hibana…a call."

Unknown to both Ichigo and Rukia, Hitsugaya seemed to take notice to the name.

Rukia stood up from the bench. Now that she knew these two guys were good friends, she didn't know if she should stay with them longer. Ichigo was just a date from two years ago and Hitsugaya was only a coworker. "Now that our wedding date bet is void, I'm going to the bridesmaid table. Have fun. Enjoy the party." And she walked away from them.

Ichigo merely clicked his tongue out of annoyance. There she goes again, being too high and mighty for anything. "So…" He asked his long time friend. "How's working with the ice queen over there?"

"Was that date two years ago that bad?" Hitsugaya said with a chuckle. "She has some good qualities to her. I've only recently got to know her, but I know people like her."

"You know, I would think the same too if she shows me once in a while." Ichigo muttered. However, his eyes wandered to the woman, herself, sitting with the bridesmaids. She didn't pay much attention to the party, but more towards her phone and the business card. At least she was thinking about Naori…even if that woman ditched the party.

"You know, you seem to brighten up whenever you're around her."

Ichigo coughed. "No I don't!"

"Sure…"

"Come on Toshiro. We'll catch up at the party."

"Right," Hitsugaya stood up and followed his friend to the reception.

And so, they spent the rest of the night drinking and reminiscing about their good old college days. However, every once in a while, Ichigo would spot Rukia sitting idly at the bridesmaid's table. She was never the one for parties, but she liked to sit and observe the fun. Sometimes, she would glance at his direction, watching him talk to Hitsugaya, Tatsuki, Chad, and the married couple, Uryu and Orihime. And then, at those rare moments, their eyes will awkwardly meet in the middle. But Rukia will always be the first to turn away. And Ichigo awkwardly followed and try to keep his eyes away.

Meanwhile, Hitsugaya tried his best to get acquainted with the people here. He didn't know most of them, but he was aware of the groom. The groom had good connections so he should get to know Uryu well. Even though he knew his goal for tonight, he still wondered about Ichigo's date. Why did she leave so urgently? More importantly, why did she look like she'd seen a ghost?

Back in her apartment, Naori stared out into the city of Tokyo as she dried off her damp hair. Today was a close call. Too bad she never got to meet Rukia. And now she owed Ichigo big time! "Ah!" Naori loudly sighed as she fell into her couch. Oh well…at least her heart was still intact. And she planned to keep it that way.

And so, these four leads began their story.

* * *

 _Hello, it's KyraX here! I decided to do a modern AU story because I haven't tackled any of that. Plus, this story is going to be more serious rather than my other lighthearted fics. Also, Bleach doesn't belong to me, yada yada yada. So our four main characters are Rukia, Ichigo, Toshiro, and my OC, Naori. Hope you guys enjoy it! Read and review!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

One fellow stuck his head into the morgue. Hanataro Yamada, a recently graduated medical student and now doing his fellowship, was curious why his boss was urgently working over one body all morning. Naori was usually a laid back woman who didn't stress about her job. He asked one of the doctors, "What's wrong with Dr. Hibana?"

"Who knows? Just let her do her work." A curt response always followed.

This patient was an early arrival so he came around the time Naori started her shift. But she immediately recognized the entry wound of a bullet and she took the case faster than that strawberry running to her office right now. In no time, the young doctor quickly retrieved the bullet and analyzed enough of the body to have Ichigo in and out in seconds.

"NAORI!"

Naori jumped from his bellowing voice. Speak of the devil! "Hanataro, here's the murder weapon. Please give it to Detective Kurosaki who's about to run down that hallway."

"Okay!" Hanataro ran out and there was the strawberry man, barreling full force for Naori's office. "Oh Detective Kurosaki! Dr. Hibana is a little busy, but here's the cause of death…Ah! Detective! You can't just run-"

"Naori!" Ichigo ran into her office.

The young doctor faked her best smile. "Oh Ichigo, I love seeing you this morning but I have a lot of work and I got your cause of death. So get out there and catch the bad guy!" She tried to retreat into the morgue.

Too bad Ichigo was the stronger one as he held her doctor's coat by the collar. "Not so fast." He tugged her so she was facing him. "Now, care to explain to me what happened back there?"

"No."

"What!?" How can she be so blunt about it too?

"It's a personal matter."

"Personal matter or not. You left me hanging there. Did you know how embarrassing it was for me to approach Rukia without you? I even gave Rukia your business card after you ditched me. Didn't she call you about your business proposal? I still thought about you, you know, so you owe me an explanation."

Naori scowled. Time to fold the cards.

* * *

Rukia adjusted her outfit even more as she waited patiently outside of Hitsugaya's office. She wore a simple white blouse and a tight black pencil skirt. It was ingrained in her to always dress her best whenever she was in Daiguren Tech. For some odd reason, every female employee was stunningly beautiful. Most of the blame went to Rangiku Matsumoto, Hitsugaya's vice president, who was rumored to be a former model. She was drop dead gorgeous. And for some reason, Hitsugaya was the only male to not bat an eye. Maybe he's not attracted to girls? Or he's not interested? He never really showed interest in the opposite sex.

Finally, Rukia was given the okay to head in.

"Hello Kuchiki," Hitsugaya said as he sorted through some papers.

"You asked for me?" Rukia replied, "What do you want?"

"You said you will owe me a favor if I went to your friend's wedding as your date. It's time for you fulfill your end of the deal." Hitsugaya simply stated as he compiled computer codes into a USB stick. "I want to replace the medical managing system in your hospitals. It's very outdated and my team would like to kick start our work with this."

"Done." Well that was easy.

"And…"

Rukia's expression dropped. He wanted more…

"The engineers of Daiguren Tech have been working on some brand new equipment. I want to start trials in your existing hospitals and clinics as well as other medical practices that you're good friends with. If this a success, I predict a good 10% rise in profits courtesy of Daiguren Tech."

Rukia sighed. He wanted to dive into the medical business world so he needed everything from her. "Is that all?"

"Nope." Hitsugaya continued with a smile, "And I would like to renegotiate my company's contract with your brother. As early as possible."

Rukia gave a curious look. "What are you planning here? What needs to changed in the original contract? Do you want more money?"

"No. I don't need more money. The company has enough." Hitsugaya explained, "My employees are engineers and computer scientists who work too hard and are not getting compensated enough in their contracts. So rather than ask for more money, I want to rearrange the budget details."

"Oh." For a second there, she thought differently. He had a good heart. No wonder her brother had such an interest in this company.

"What? You think I was going to leech your brother for more money? I'm not that kind of guy. Money and power don't mean anything to me. That's your brother's job. I just like doing what I do and I'm good at it, that's all."

"Huh…" Rukia leaned back, now a little comfortable in the man's presence. He always gave off an icy aura that two minutes alone was enough to be awkward. "You really need to ease up a little. You emit a powerful energy, you know."

"I know that. It comes off as a strength. You should get some of that."

Well that solved the mystery of Hitsugaya's lack of a girlfriend. Rukia sighed and put on her game face. "I'll try my absolute best to find something suitable for you and your company. Also, may I request an addition to your second request? Along with supplying your technology to our private hospitals and clinics, we should also consider donating your existing technology to the public office. I'm planning on a deal with the public office so using your technology will sweeten the deal a little."

Hitsugaya frowned and crossed his fingers. "Kuchiki, your brother essentially pays for my company's equipment and you want to give it away for free. You realize that that's an immediate loss in profits for Kuchiki Group."

"I do. But I believe it's a sacrifice worth making. First of all, it will bring great publicity to the Kuchiki brand as well as your company. Second, it greatly benefits the community since the public office only runs on taxpayer money and I've noticed that their budget is diminishing. Finally, we can see how your equipment works within different areas of the medical field. One of these areas is the Medical Examiner's Office, where you don't have to worry about equipment failure being the cause of death."

Hitsugaya nodded in agreement. "Okay. I like your thinking. I'll look into our inventory. But even if I say yes, it's your brother's final word."

"I'll talk to him."

"So….why did you mention the Medical Examiner's Office in particular?" Hitsugaya asked with a smirk.

Rukia blushed. "What are you insinuating?"

"You see, the Medical Examiner's Office works with the Tokyo Police Department…where Ichigo works. Are you doing this as a personal favor?"

"No! I called his coworker, Dr. Hibana, a few days ago and she asked for my helping hand. She's the girl who left Ichigo at the wedding reception. He has nothing to do with this."

"Huh…Dr. Hibana is it?"

"What? You're interested in her? You haven't even met her?"

"I feel I will meet her soon if your proposal goes through. I should get to know my clients." Hitsugaya shot back. "Besides, it's not as obvious as your interest in Ichigo. You two were practically staring at each other the entire reception."

Rukia scowled. "I'm not interested in him. Not one bit. I only chose to help his friend because it benefits us."

"You say that, but your face says something different."

"Geez…" Rukia let out a puff of air. No. She didn't like him then and she wouldn't like him now. As much as Hitsugaya thought of himself as a prodigy, he really missed the mark on this one.

* * *

"At the reception, I saw my ex-boyfriend." Naori said as she slurped up her ramen noodles. After Ichigo caused a ruckus in her office, she resolved to answer his questions during lunch. So she merely asked him to lunch and pushed him out the door. She didn't realize that he'd find the murderer of her body in that time span.

Ichigo nearly coughed. "Your ex? You have an ex-boyfriend? Who is he?"

"You will never know." Naori shot back, effectively putting Ichigo in his place. "I just didn't realize he was attending so I bailed. I promised myself I wouldn't run into him."

"I didn't know you dated before. I always see you annoyed every time a guy approached you." Ichigo simply said as he also took a large helping of noodles.

"Well the only times you've seen me with a guy is when I'm working with you or when I'm talking to family members. I'm not even going to begin with you. Secondly, I'm not allowed to flirt with my patient's family members because that breaks my code of conduct as a physician."

"I know that. But still, I didn't know you had a life outside of work."

Naori dropped her chopsticks with the most unamused look she could muster on her face. Ichigo thought she was a loser? "Yes I have a life outside of work. I can choose not to date and still have a life. I have friends and family and that's good already."

"Alright. Alright. I get you." Ichigo eased off. "So…why did you have a massive freak out like that? Did the relationship end badly?"

"More or less…yeah. It ended pretty badly on my end. I went through a pretty dark stage of my life after that." Naori bitterly explained as she toyed around with the noodles. Her eyes casted downwards, unable to lift them to look at Ichigo. But then, she took one deep sigh, lifted her eyes, and shook her head. "Whatever, what's passed has passed and I plan to keep it that way." She already rebuilt her life from the ground up so she refused to have it crumble down.

"Sorry Naori…"

"It's not your fault. Now you know." Naori smirked as she regained her confidence. Now, it's time to humiliate him. "What about your love life? Or should I say, how did you and Rukia go at the reception?"

Now it was time for Ichigo to drop the chopsticks. "I don't like her like that."

"Sure. Why do you look so bright now that we're talking about her?"

"You're not funny…"

Naori shrugged. "I try to lighten things up."

"You're really bad at that." Ichigo shot back. He stood up and paid for both of their meals. "Sorry, I have to leave early. I promised dad I'll pick up my Uncle after he finishes work. It's family game night tonight."

"Say hello to Isshin for me. His former intern misses him and she would like to say hello."

"Will do." He waved good bye and exited the ramen shop.

Naori cheekily smiled and finished her bowl before reaching for Ichigo's. He left most of his bowl untouched. Good thing she had a second stomach.

* * *

Rukia let out a tired sigh once she made it back to her office. She occupied a big room on the 13th floor of Seireitei Tower. Her desk was made out of fine mahogany and her chair's leather was rough but soothing. There were also six single couches in front of her desk where she would hold meetings. Rukia sank into her chair and leaned back, massaging her forehead. She just got back from Daiguren Tech and soon, she will have to make a bunch of phone calls.

Director Hitsugaya is asking too much from her! Not only did he want a million things at the same time, he interrogated her about her own life. It's really too much!

Suddenly, a cold glass of ice tea graced her forehead. She flinched a little and swiftly got up, only to get the full glass back in her face. "Ah!" Rukia quickly grabbed the chilled glass, seeing the man who gave it to her. "Kaien?"

Kaien Shiba was a man with spiky dark hair, long face, and a warm smile. Before Rukia took her position the Kuchiki Health Initiative, Kaien Shiba was the interim director. Byakuya offered him to take the position, but Kaien declined, citing his family as the reason. He offered to train the Kuchiki heiress and that's how Rukia met her mentor. He was a responsible, nice person. Rukia admit she did garner a bit of a crush on him, but she remembered he was a married man. His wife was a lucky woman for sure!

Kaien smiled and sat down on one of her couches. "Learn to relax once in a while. Clearing your mind is an absolute must now that you're a director."

"If I ever find the time for that." Rukia sighed and she joined him at the couch. "Kaien, what are you doing here?"

"I can't check up on my little trainee every once in a while?" Kaien patted her head. "I see you've been doing well in my stead."

"Yes. I still have a lot to learn though. It's hard…picking up after your great work."

"Oh stop flattering me. It's my job to flatter you now."

"Oh…" Rukia softly said, casting down her gaze. "Kaien…why did you want to remain as Vice Director? You can do so much more as the Director."

"Why? Hm…?" Kaien mused. "Being a Director is a hard job, but so is being a father. I would choose my wife and my son any day. Besides, I know you're more than capable and I know it would make the Head Director proud to see you sit in that seat."

"Of course. How's Miyako?"

"She's doing fine. She's been at home, taking care of our son. But tonight, we have guests coming so she's been working hard to prepare the party. I have to leave early to help her."

Rukia's eyes perked up in interest. "What kind of party are you having?"

"Game night!" Kaien flashed her a smile. "It's a four way sibling battle every game night! Me vs. Isshin vs. Ganju vs. Kukaku. Ganju and Kukaku always align with each other. I have my wife and Isshin has his son and twin daughters. That's how it always starts. You know, I could always use more power on my side. Care to join?"

"Oh no!" Rukia furiously shook her hands. "It's a family occasion and I shouldn't intrude!"

"You're practically my family. Miyako adores you, you know." Kaien stood up and straightened his jacket. "It will be an honor to introduce my boss to my family. So I'll ask again, do you want to join us?"

Rukia sighed. "If you insist…"

"Great! My nephew is coming to pick us up right now."

"Eh?" Rukia suddenly felt her arm lifting up and dragging the rest of her body out of her office. Was Kaien really taking her away to meet a bunch of people she didn't know? What did she get herself into?

They went into an elevator, down thirteen floors, and into the main lobby where Kaien called out for an orange head. "Ah! Nephew!" He waved over the man, who turned out to be her worst nightmare

"Eh!?" Rukia and Ichigo yelled.

Rukia jumped back. It-It can't be!? But how? How can such a well-mannered man be related to such a…brute? Now that she's seen both, she could tell one thing: Ichigo was a younger Kaien with orange hair.

Ichigo pointed and managed to blurt out, "Uncle Kaien. Why is she here? How do you guys know each other? What's going on?"

"Oh. You two know each other. Well, that makes things easier for me. Rukia is going to be joining my team for game night." Kaien explained and led Rukia to the car. "Let's go Rukia."

"R-Right…" She murmured and quietly sat down.

And so, Ichigo drove them off from the bustling city of lights and noise to a quiet suburb with small houses and tall, stone fences. They passed by kids playing along the streets, a huge contrast compared to all the young adult city crowd. Even Rukia marveled at the simplicity of such a quaint town. She grew up in a penthouse apartment, surrounded by butlers and maids, so she never experienced a town life. Finally, Ichigo parked in Kaien's driveway where he was immediately bombarded with…feet?

"Good! Morning! Ichigo!"

"Agh! You old shit! Can't you see the sky's dark?" Ichigo yelled back and kicked the old man back.

"That's my boy!" The old man, presumably Ichigo's father, gave a smirk and a thumbs up. But then, his eyes wandered over to Rukia. "Ooh! Who's this wonderful young lady?"

"I'm Rukia Kuchiki. It's nice to meet you." Rukia politely said with a bow.

"Isshin Kurosaki! I'm Ichigo's manly father."

Ichigo scoffed at him.

"Oh…um…"

"Hands off Isshin. You already have Ichigo, Yuzu, and Karin on your team. Rukia is on my team for the night." Kaien declared. "With our superior intellect, we will defeat your team and leave your bleeding carcasses in the dust."

"Ooh! Prepare for the wrath of the Kurosaki's! You forget that Team Kurosaki has our guardian angel with us. My dearly beloved Masaki will answer our prayers tonight and pound you guys into the dirt!"

"Tch. Tch. Tch. It's always those two who get too into this." Kukaku chirped in. "Hey Ganju, aren't you glad we're the youngest of the lot? We don't need to worry about fighting for the throne."

Ganju nodded. "That's right."

Rukia noticed that Ichigo had already left the boiling sibling battle. He must have disappeared into this gigantic Japanese style house. Rukia walked in, noticing how polished the wooden floor felt against her feet. She noticed the decorative doors, the many statues and vases that graced the hallways, and a small koi pond in the courtyard. In the kitchen, she noticed Miyako cooking away for tonight's dinner. And when she arrived to the living room, she found Ichigo and two girls.

"Ichigo!" The girls hugged their older brother. One wore blonde pigtails and was quite a girly girl while the other had a black ponytail and was spunky looking. They looked around college aged.

"Hey Yuzu. Hey Karin. It's been a while." Ichigo hugged them both back. "Yuzu, how's nursing school?"

"I really like it!" Yuzu beamed back. "I'm learning so much. Soon I'll get to officially work in Dad's clinic."

"Oh right, the clinic. Did you guys know I work with Dad's intern now?"

Karin exclaimed, "What? That Hibana chick? She can actually work with you?"

Yuzu also chimed in, "Didn't you guys use to get on each other's nerves every summer?"

"Hey it paid off. She's a medical examiner now and she knows how to work with me. That's why we work well together." Ichigo explained and ruffled Karin's hair. "So, how's soccer been? When do you start playing for the national team?"

"It's been alright." She shrugged. "What about you? How's being a cop?"

"It's hard work, but I like it. I got to do my job to keep you two safe. Just today, I caught a guy who committed homicide. He shot this poor dude over a gambling issue."

"Wow! You're so cool Big Brother!" Yuzu hugged her brother again, but this time, her eyes caught someone peeking in. "Ichigo, who is that person over there?"

Ichigo quickly turned as well and noticed that Rukia was standing at the doorway. She stepped out in full view, fixed up her skirt, and bowed. "I'm sorry to interrupt your family reunion. My name is Rukia Kuchiki and I'm a guest invited by Kaien Shiba."

"Wow! Uncle Kaien knows an heiress!" Yuzu excitedly exclaimed. "How come he never told us?"

"Oh! Yes. I'm heiress of Kuchiki Group, the sister of Byakuya Kuchiki himself. Your uncle Kaien was my mentor during my ascension to director."

"Wow." Karin said, impressed. "I didn't know Uncle Kaien knew such prominent people."

Rukia blushed at the compliments and she fixed her hair a little. Ichigo noticed this behavior, something so different from the usually proud woman. In fact, her flustered state came off as kind of cute…

"Yuzu! Karin!" Miyako came into the room. "Oh Rukia! It's a pleasure to have you here! I'm sorry, but I'm making dinner right now so I'll chat with you later. Yuzu! Karin! Hiro woke up so can you two watch my little boy for a while?"

"Yes Aunt Miyako!"

The twins walked out with their aunt, leaving only Rukia and Ichigo in the room. They locked eyes only once and both looked away. Their relationship wasn't bad. They were mere acquaintances, acquaintances that tend to argue at first sight of each other. So how did it get so awkward all of a sudden?

Ichigo stuffed his hands into his pockets and loudly coughed, disturbing the silence between them. "So…the game we're playing tonight is charades. Are you good at acting?"

Rukia let out a huge sigh. "I don't know. I never really played such games."

"You know…" Ichigo continued with a smirk. "You don't need to act so refined right now. You're going to be playing a ridiculous game. There's no one here you need to impress."

"Did I act too elite? I was just introducing myself."

"I know. But it does come off as elite. You should know that before you piss off the wrong person."

"Oh…" Rukia glanced up at him. "Did I ever come off that way to you?"

"Yeah. Of course. But I'm a cop, a homicide detective, so I know a thing or two about reading people. I know you're not as entitled and elite as you came off the first time. In fact, you're a pretty nice person."

Rukia felt hot air rise to her head and quickly turned away. Did he just complement her? She coughed and changed the subject. "You seem quite close with your little sisters." When she was watching him interact with those two, he seemed like a different man. He was a man with a warm heart.

"Yeah. I've been taking care of them ever since they were little kids."

"Wow. Not only you were their brother, you were also their caretaker?"

"I had to. Our mother died when they were only four years old. Dad couldn't take care of them by himself, you know."

"Oh." Her eyes casted downward. "I'm sorry for asking such a personal question…"

"It's alright. It's been over twenty years since she passed away. We all needed to learn to move on bravely after her passing. Yuzu and Karin had to learn to grow up quickly. Before you knew it, Yuzu ended up taking care of all us. Funny how things work out."

"You know…I know how you feel a little." Rukia said as she leaned against the doorway. "Byakuya Kuchiki is not my brother by blood, but he is my brother-in-law. He adopted me after my sister passed away. I never met my sister. She abandoned me when I was only a baby."

Ichigo glanced over at the young woman. He noticed that she remained stoned-face when she spoke of her deceased sister. "I'm sorry to hear about your sister."

"It's alright. Like I said, I never met her. But because of her, I also had to learn to grow up quickly. Living in the streets was hard, but I survived up till now. Of course, Byakuya helped by adopting me but I had to work hard to get here." She met his eyes with her own. "So now you know why I'm proud of my name. I started from nothing. I had no one. And from now on, I need to prove myself to gain respect."

She was pitiful. Not to mention, awkwardly shy whenever she met new people. It was a cover.

"There's no need to prove yourself here." Ichigo softly responded, hopefully easing her worries. "Everyone here likes you just the way you are. Only pull that game face when you're at work."

Rukia smiled, slightly amused by him. "Alright. I understand Detective Kurosaki."

"Geez. I'm not at work right now. It's Ichigo."

"Alright, Ichigo it is."

"It's always so formal with you."

"What can I say? I didn't have a lot of close friends. I think I scared them off with my elitism."

Ichigo chuckled a little. This woman knew how to have a sense of humor. "I'm curious of one thing though. What did you think of me when we first went out?"

"You?" Rukia eyed at him. "Obnoxious."

"Well, I had to match up to your obnoxiousness."

"Obnoxious. Rude. Awkward. This guy who thought he could run the world now that he could shoot a gun." Rukia continued on with her insults but then added, "Handsome."

And that was enough to crack a smile on Ichigo's face. Rukia blushed when she said that one word and looked away. She couldn't believe it herself. But it was the truth. When she first saw him, she couldn't help but notice his handsome face. He had a chiseled jawline, a sharp nose, and chocolate brown eyes that looked kindly even when he was scowling.

"Everyone! Assemble in the courtyard! It's game time!" A loud voice, presumably Ichigo's father, roared enough to shake the whole house. It broke the awkward silence between Ichigo and Rukia, much to their relief.

"Come on." He took her arm. "I'll show you the way there. And by the way, you aligned yourself with the wrong team tonight. Uncle Kaien's pretty bad at acting."

"Tch. You don't know how I play." Rukia replied with determination in her violet eyes. "I play to win, no matter what."

"Alright, I play the same." Ichigo replied with a smirk back.

And the two walked away to their game.

* * *

 _And these two start to get along. And Naori and Hitsugaya still reveal more about their past relationship. Read and review!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Naori strutted her best style into Seireitei Tower. She wore a pastel pink blouse, a white skirt, and her best nude heels. Her hair was also styled up and her make up was on point. Usually, if she was going to her office, she didn't bother dressing up and was fine walking out in scrubs. But she needed to look her best in this corporate world so she dolled up appropriately. Naori entered into the building and got in the elevator for the thirteenth floor. She was meeting Rukia today to negotiate her partnership with the Kuchiki Health Initiative. If this deal was a success, she would get what she needs and more.

The young woman finally entered the large office of the powerful woman.

"Oh Dr. Hibana!" Rukia said as she got up from her chair. "Have a seat. Would you like some tea or coffee?"

"Oh thank you, but I'm fine." Naori replied, "You have a wonderful office by the way. It's quite grand and spacious."

"Thank you." This doctor sounded like such a nice person over the phone. She was even sweeter in person. "So what would you like to talk to me about our partnership? I hope the budget plan I offered will suffice you."

"Thank you again for agreeing to a partnership. My office is eternally grateful to you." Naori thanked, which Rukia smiled at her nature. "Also, I received the equipment list however, I looked over it and my office doesn't need most of the equipment that Daiguren Tech is willing to give away. And the crucial equipment we do need is not being offered."

"I apologize for that. But it's Daiguren Tech that you should be speaking to about this matter. I can only connect you to them. Would you like to negotiate this with that company?"

"Can you?" Her eyes perked up.

"Yes. I'm pretty good friends with Daiguren Tech's CEO. I'll call him right now." Rukia pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

A woman suddenly noticed the black cellphone ringing and buzzing on a desk. "Huh? Lil Shiro left his phone here?" She was a short, young woman who wore a blouse, work pants, and a cardigan. The most noticeable feature was her cheerful face and a bun on her hair.

"What's that noise I'm hearing?" Another woman popped in. She was a busty female with voluminous blonde hair. She was Rangiku Matsumoto, Vice President of Daiguren Tech, and Hitsugaya's closest worker. She walked in and answered the phone, "Hello? This is Vice President Matsumoto. Who am I speaking with? Ahh! Director Kuchiki, how are you? I'm fine. Director Hitsugaya is not here at the moment and he left his phone here. A doctor wants to meet with him? What's her name? Alright, I'll let him know and I'll set up an appointment. No problem. It was nice talking to you."

Matsumoto hung up and directed her attention to the other woman. "And who might you be? Wait-You're organizing his desk and you have lunch for him. Are you possibly…?"

"No! I'm definitely not that!" She took one of Hitsguaya's photos and turned it around. On the photo was Hitsugaya, an old granny, and her. "My name is Momo Hinamori! I'm his sister! Adopted sister, but we're still family."

"Oh, he never mentioned his family to me." Matsumoto nervously laughed. "Sorry about that."

"Oh no worries!"

"So…what are you doing here? I don't recall the director having an appointment with you."

Hinamori merely sighed. "I don't think his own sister needs an appointment. Besides, it's been a while since I've seen him. I always look out for Toshiro. Right now, I'm organizing his desk and giving him some lunch. He's always been a hard worker. So much, he sometimes forgets to eat."

"Yep that's the director." Matsumoto noticed a small photo had fallen out of the family portrait. "What's that?"

Hinamori noticed it too and picked it up. It was a picture of a young girl, wearing her high school graduation outfit and brandishing her degree. She had dark blue hair that was fashioned into a short bob and she wore a very cheeky smile. Hinamori smiled, remembering this young girl. "This is a very old photo. This was from when Toshiro graduated from high school."

Matsumoto took a look. "She's pretty cute."

"I know, I always thought she was adorable every time she came over. Her name is Naori Hibana and she was Toshiro's girlfriend back then."

Matsumoto's eyes flickered for a second.

"They were so adorable. You could tell Toshiro fell hard for her." Hinamori sighed as she placed the photo back into it's hidden location. "But unfortunately, they broke up in college. I haven't heard about her since. I wonder how she is doing these days."

"Hmm…that's an interesting thought…"

Suddenly, the door opened and the short, white haired director walked in. "Momo? What are you doing here?"

"Lil Shiro!" Hinamori excitedly chirped.

He scowled at her. "I'm at work right now. It's Director Hitsugaya to you."

"Director Hitsugaya. Director Kuchiki called you on your personal phone and requested an appointment. I will look into your schedule and schedule an appropriate meeting for you."

"Thank you Matsumoto." Hitsugaya simply responded and watched his confidant leave. For her to take the initiative and schedule appointments for him…she must be planning something. But then, Hinamori was here so he'll leave the matter alone. "Momo, why are you in my office? Shouldn't you be doing your job and assisting Director Aizen?"

"Oh! I'm just reorganizing your desk. Do you know how cluttered it is? Look! There's so many papers everywhere!"

"It's the middle of the day. My desk is usually clean when I leave." Hitsugaya took a seat on the couch and urged his sister to sit. "Do you do the same with Director Aizen?"

"Of course! I want him to know that his work will be smooth sailing every day! I make sure all his appointments are at decent times and all his paperwork is in order. I know everything that goes in his work and I organize them to make it easier for him."

"Wow. You must really like your boss." He teased as a blush rose to her face.

"No! I don't like him! I'm just his personal assistant!"

"But that's doing a bit much for just an assistant."

"Uh-I-Lil Shiro!"

"Yes Bedwetter Momo?"

"Ooh! You're so mean Lil Shiro!" She playfully slapped his arm.

Hitsugaya chuckled. "Alright. I'll stop teasing you."

Hinamori pouted and looked away, but her gaze went to the photo. "Toshiro…I noticed you still have a photo of her. Any reason why?"

"You saw it?" He asked and got a nod in response. "Yeah…I thought why not. She's what changed me to go on this path in my life, why should I not preserve that memory?"

"Do you perhaps want to reconnect with her? It's been so long already, she must have forgiven you. You guys can possibly be friends again?"

"I don't know. That's up to her." Hitsugaya muttered. "So Momo, what did you bring me for lunch?"

"Natto! Your favorite! Granny poured her heart into this lunch when she heard I was going to visit you." Hinamori unwrapped the lunch and gave it to him.

"Thanks. I'll make sure to visit Granny when I get the chance." Hitsugaya grabbed a pair of chopsticks and dug in. He even picked up a portion and raised it to Hinamori's mouth. "Here, you need to eat too. You've been working hard these days."

"Aw! Thank you for thinking about me." Hinamori cooed as she took a bite, earning a small smile from her little brother.

* * *

"So…we're looking for a black haired man with an estimated height of around 167.5 centimeters and has a build capable of wielding a pipe around half his height…However, he was able to kill a man nearly a head taller." Tatsuki muttered as she tapped her pen against the table. "That makes no sense. Ichigo, can you check with Dr. Hibana again about the murder weapon?"

"Why?" Ichigo rolled up to her. "She's usually right about these things."

"I know, but the evidence and her analysis don't match up. Can she double check for us?"

"Okay, I'll ask." Ichigo rolled back to his desk and kept scouring the city over a speck of paint. "Damn it! I've been staring at this map for hours and I still can't find the first crime scene."

"It's hard work, right Ichigo?" Tatsuki stretched out her arms. "It's been a while since we've had a case that stumped us for this long."

Ichigo suddenly got up and gathered his things.

"Where are you going Ichigo?"

"Out. I'm getting some fresh air away from this case. Maybe that'll help jog something."

"Don't be gone too long."

Ichigo left the busy police station and found himself wandering the even busier streets of Tokyo. It was a particularly rainy day so Ichigo whipped out a black umbrella. Today may not be a good day for fresh air, but he was willing to do anything to get out of the station. But what should he do here? Maybe he could go into a coffee shop and relax there. He could even find a solution to this mysterious case if it pops up in his head. So Ichigo resolved to walk into the nearest coffee shop, order a cup of coffee, and sit at a booth to stare out at people.

However, the line was pretty long so Ichigo decided to do Tatsuki's request. He took out his phone and dialed Naori's number.

"Hello Ichigo. What do you want?"

"Hey Naori. It's about our case today. Can you recheck the body because our evidence doesn't line up with your findings."

"I'll try. But I have dinner with someone tonight."

"Oh. A date?"

"No!" He heard her cough out her denial. "Rukia Kuchiki decided I should personally meet with the CEO of Daiguren Tech to discuss the terms of my proposal. For some reason, his schedule was packed for an entire day so we're having dinner instead of a business meeting."

Rukia also found herself in this coffee shop. She was a regular customer here. She liked a cup of relaxing chai tea after a long morning of work. However, she could spot that orange head a mile away. What was Ichigo doing here? Rukia reached up and tapped his shoulder. "Ichigo!"

"Huh? Oh Rukia! Naori, I got to go now." Ichigo hung up. "Rukia. What are you doing here?"

"I come here during my breaks. Why are you here?"

Ichigo awkwardly rubbed his head. "I have a pretty hard case right now. It's been nagging Tatsuki and me all morning."

"Oh…that's not good…"

"It's okay. I'll figure things out." Ichigo confidently replied as he led her to a cozy corner of the shop. "So…how is your work?"

"It's busy work. Right now, Director Hitsugaya has me burning through all my resources for him." Rukia tiredly said and sipped her tea. "Right now, I'm regretting asking him to be my date. Say…what do you owe your date?"

"Nothing. She just really wanted to meet you."

"Oh," Rukia chuckled under her breath. She remembered watching Naori's nervousness when they first met. "Dr. Hibana is quite flattering."

Ichigo scoffed and warned, "Don't fall for it. She only acts like that to get what she wants."

"How do you know?"

"She would always act so innocent in front of my father, but around me is when she'd rear her ugly head." He remembered her extreme politeness when working her internship, but she would take every chance to mess with Ichigo off the job.

"Ah…so you're close?" Rukia started to tease, "She sure knows how to put you in your place."

"Aren't you being commanded around by Toshiro?" Ichigo shot back. "By the way, I'm close to her only because I've known her for so long. What about you and Toshiro?"

"Strictly co-workers." Rukia curtly responded.

"Huh. I thought you two would get along well. You guys seemed to have the same icy soul." Ichigo said with a smirk.

"I'm not as coldhearted as him. If you don't work hard in his company, he'll fire you right there. And he's very cutthroat when it comes to deals. I feel kind of bad sending in Dr. Hibana to deal with him. Even I have my dog petting moments." Rukia hoped Naori knew how to argue against Hitsugaya. Sometimes, she felt too overwhelmed from him.

"You do…but you really got to lower your expectations."

"And you really got to stop running your mouth." Rukia shot back with ease.

"Whoa. I didn't know the stuck-up princess had such a sharp tongue." Ichigo remarked, rather impressed.

"I wasn't raised like a typical heiress." Rukia replied, "Just like you weren't traditionally raised to be a cop. Your family doesn't seem to be the type to raise a brute son. Why did you want to be a cop?"

Ichigo sighed and leaned back. "Ever since I was a kid, I've always wanted to be a cop. Let's just say that. I like the thrill and work that goes into it."

"It fits you very well."

"What about you? What do you see in the business world?"

Rukia tilted her head. "Do you not think it fits me?"

"Not exactly. Sometimes you can be cold and cutthroat like Toshiro, but other times, you can be kind like my Uncle Kaien." Ichigo explained, "I know how that world works. You're not going to make it."

"Unfortunately for you, I do things my own way and I make sure my plans work out with everyone winning. I'm not as cold as my brother and I don't intend to follow his example." Rukia smartly replied back. "So don't assume that I'm going to fail when nothing has happened."

He smirked at her declarations. "You're smart." Maybe she could make her world work for her.

Rukia felt lightness cover her entire body every time Ichigo complimented her. She didn't know what this feeling was…but it made her uneasy. Every time this happened, she'd quickly change the subject away from herself. "Your father seems quite…eccentric."

Ichigo flinched and his permanent scowl morphed into a grimace. "That guy is just crazy." He remembered that one night Rukia crashed family game night. His dad kept teasing that Rukia should date Ichigo and then, started advertising his own son like a matchmaker. Ichigo never felt so embarrassed in one night.

"So…were the things he said true?"

"Some of it is. Some are exaggerated to the point they become lies. Some…I really don't know where he makes them up."

"So did you really do a drug raid by accident?"

"It just so happened my suspect was a cook. I can honestly say I didn't know that." Ichigo replied with a shrug. "Besides, the ingredients came from your stuff. Kuchiki Health Initiative really needs to tighten their regulations on their products. You guys make some really strong stuff."

Rukia scowled and lightly slapped his arm. "My company does not work in the underground drug trade. Get that idea out of your head."

"I know. I know. But I'm just saying, a lot of your stuff circulates down there. If you want to be off the police radar, you just got to hire better security and tone down the potency of your stuff."

"I'll take your suggestions into consideration." Rukia said, "By the way, a lot of my company's products circulates down there?"

"Yeah. It's one of the most popular ingredients for cooks down there. You guys make the ingredient that's been giving a popular type of meth it's name: Diamond Ice. It sparkles like a diamond, but it has the appearance of snow. But because your stuff is easy to trace, the police can usually find cooks in days."

"Hmm…it's still a bad…The Kuchiki name cannot be dragged into illegal business like that." Rukia quickly chugged her tea and packed her things. "I'm leaving early. I have to check my inventory. It was nice running into you." She shot a small smile, waved good bye, and bolted out the door.

And her bright smile was enough to bring a small smile to Ichigo.

* * *

Why did his vice president think that a dinner meeting was a good idea? After Hinamori left, Matsumoto informed him that she scheduled an impromptu dinner meeting for him and that he must attend no matter what. Even if he had to get up early tomorrow morning, she wouldn't take no for an answer. He didn't even know exactly who he was spending dinner with. Sometimes, he felt that it was Matsumoto who ran the show instead of him. So Hitsugaya left work early, went home, got dressed in a simple button up and tie, and went to the sushi place that Matsumoto scheduled for him.

He got out of his car and headed inside, only knowing the table number that Matsumoto gave him. So he scanned the tables, not even paying attention to the patrons.

But she caught his eye almost immediately. There was Naori Hibana, sitting alone while checking herself in a compact mirror. Was he meeting with her? He even checked the table number and it matched the one he was given. So Matsumoto was pulling a trick all this time… He'll have to get back at her later. But now, he was going to talk to Naori after a long time. He didn't even know what to say to her. But she didn't seem to change that much. Her hair grew a little longer and she became a little more feminine. Back in high school, she was a plain girl who found dressing up and dolling her face to be troublesome. Now, she still had those doe-like, golden eyes and pouty lips. Even she was cursed to look ridiculously young like him.

He silently walked up to his ex-girlfriend from long ago. "Naori…"

She glanced up and her eyes widened at the sight of him. "You…What are you…" She could feel her breath quickening every passing second. What was he doing here? She can't be meeting him…? "I'm supposed to be meeting…"

Hitsugaya was quick to finish that for her. "I'm the CEO of Daiguren Tech. You must be Kuchiki's client who wants to discuss my company's equipment inventory."

Even though he just introduced himself, his very presence made her kick in fight or flight mode. And she was definitely in flight. "I didn't know I was meeting with you." She nervously scrunched up the fabric of her dress. She had to get out of here. Now! "I think I'll leave now. I'll call your company to reschedule this meeting with another representative."

What? Hitsugaya didn't even sit down yet. But she already jumped up from her seat and ran past him. He didn't even have time to stop her from leaving. So Hitsugaya turned his heels and followed after her. "Naori!" He grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

"Let go!" Naori yanked away her arm. She tried to walk away again, but he still grabbed her wrist.

"We meet each other after such a long time and this is how you greet me?" Hitsugaya asked her, firmly holding her so she couldn't run. "Why do you keep running away from me? You ran away during the wedding reception. Now you're running from our meeting."

"Leave me alone!" She grew more frantic as she tried to wrestle away from his tight grip.

He could see the fear that was evident in her eyes. She was scared of him. She was so scared that she didn't even want to be near him. Her behavior started to rub him the wrong way. It made him feel sick to his stomach. Did she hate him? "Naori, what's wrong with you? Can't you talk to me?"

She stared into his teal eyes and answered, "No. I don't want to!"

"Naori!"

"Toshiro!" Her voice finally rang to speak his name. "Please! Just leave me alone."

"Can you at least tell me, why are you acting like this? It's not like you."

Her eyes welled up in tears. "I'm scared. I've been hurt enough. So please, leave me alone!" She finally managed to break free from Hitsugaya and quickly ran to a nearby taxi.

"Naori! Wait!"

It was too late. She already got into the taxi and it drove off in a hurry. Naori breathed low shallow breaths as she sat safely in the car. Why did she have to run into him a second time? The woman stared out of the window, noticing streaks of rain that painted the glass. Of course, the weather had to get moody too. She could feel her heart calm down a little. She didn't know why. Every time she saw him, her body would just react. The negative memories would flood back to her and she would feel like she was in college again.

Naori finally got out of the taxi and began walking back home. She didn't have an umbrella so she was being drenched in rain. She didn't care. Her mind just kept replaying what happened at that restaurant. Did he hate her now that she ran away from him? Was he sad that she didn't want to talk to him? Was he worried about her still?

"Naori?" A familiar voice rang in her ears and she turned around. It was Ichigo, standing in the street with a black umbrella. "Naori, what are you doing here?"

Naori felt her throat clench as she managed to utter out, "Ichigo..."

"What's wrong?"

"Ichigo!"

He felt her short arms wrap around his center and her face buried in his chest. His shirt was slowly dampening with her tears as she cried in anguish. Ichigo grew frantic. He never seen such a composed person break down like this. "Naori, you have to tell me what's wrong so I can help. Why are you crying?"

She couldn't answer. She just continued crying into the night as she collapsed in his arms.

* * *

 _While one couple has some sweet beginnings, another couple has a fated and disastrous reunion. Although I like that Rukia and Ichigo argue, they don't really do that in Bleach. It seems that they have more of an understanding of each other and bicker from time to time. Meanwhile, my OC, Naori, has a more snappy personality compared to Hitsugaya's coolness. I'm not dead yet. I have college to tend to...that's all... Read and review!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Ichigo found himself waiting outside the Daiguren Tech building. It was a fairly modern building with glass walls and a steel structure. He couldn't believe Hitsugaya managed to rise this far in his career. Actually, he couldn't believe that Naori was meeting with Hitsugaya in the first place. After Naori went hysterical last night, Ichigo looked into Daiguren Tech's CEO. Imagine his surprise when he found Hitsugaya's name listed on their website. It only took a short phone call for him to schedule a meeting, which he was patiently waiting for right now.

Finally, the man of the hour came running out. "Sorry Ichigo, my meeting went over time."

"Hey Toshiro."

The white haired prodigy scowled at Ichigo's casual demeanor. "It's Director Hitsugaya right now. You're on my grounds."

"Huh?" Ichigo was momentarily confused of his seriousness but brushed it off. "Anyways, I want to talk to you."

"Alright. Let's go on a walk then. Just like old times, you know?" He led Ichigo out to a small park just outside of his building.

"Toshiro…"

"It's Director Hitsugaya to you!"

"Alright, Director," Ichigo replied with a slight roll in his eyes. "Yesterday was a very difficult day. I had to witness my coworker and friend crying in the middle of the streets. So let's cut to the chase, Toshiro. What did you do to Naori?"

"Huh. I knew you two worked together considering both of your occupations but I didn't expect you two to be close." Hitsugaya mused on. "So what did I do? I went to the dinner meeting as scheduled and met with Dr. Hibana. It was business as usual for me. But for her, it was a different story. She started freaking out the second she saw me and ran away."

"Wait!" The gears started turning. "She did that before…at the reception. You're her ex-boyfriend!? You and Naori dated!?"

"What are you so surprised about? People date." Hitsugaya replied unfazed.

"I just didn't expect it to be you and her. I didn't even know you two knew each other." But he knew one thing of course. The person who ruined Naori's life and sent her in a deep depression was, in fact, Hitsugaya. So it was his college roommate he had to keep an eye on… What a cruel twist of fate. "I just knew she dated someone and the break up ended badly. That was you?"

"That would be me." Hitsugaya sighed as he stared into the sky. He felt he was travelling back into time now, back to the days where all he was concerned about was grades and soccer. "There's not much of a story to tell. We were the quintessential high school sweethearts. We even went to the same college together."

"Wait. Wait. Wait." Ichigo stopped him right there. "There's a flaw in your story. Naori didn't go to the same college as us. She went to Karakura Community College, not Tokyo University. In fact, I don't remember seeing her face there. I only see her when she's interning for my dad every summer."

"You wouldn't have. Because when you transferred in, she was already gone. After the first semester, she disappeared without a single trace." Except he just learned where she ran off to. All this time, she'd been very close.

Ichigo's face turned to a serious frown. He had this mystery almost solved. Now, it was time for the confession. "Toshiro…what did you do to her back then? She has a near breakdown whenever she sees you. It was her break up with you that caused her to be like this. She's traumatized even to this day."

Now Hitsugaya looked a little peeved. "Ichigo, if I knew that then I wouldn't have met with Naori at all. I'm not heartless, you know that. I don't know what's wrong with her and she won't tell me. All I know is that when we broke up, I stopped talking to her. I broke the rule several times, that's my fault, but I tried my best to make a clean break for her."

"Toshiro, you're not telling me the full story."

"I don't know! That's what happened to me." Hitsugaya shot back, fully annoyed. "I don't know what went wrong. I don't know why she acts like this. If you want a full story, you have to ask Naori herself."

Ichigo held back a little after his friend's outburst. Hitsugaya was usually a laidback guy who didn't seem to care about a lot of things. But this was the first time he witnessed him a little unnerved. "Toshiro…"

Hitsugaya sighed. "Ichigo, I don't know what you're trying to accomplish here, but it's not going to help. So do yourself a favor and leave it be. I'll figure something out between Naori and I."

"Fine… But here's the thing: she and I are close. She's like one of my sisters. And if-"

"And I'll try not to upset her like I did yesterday, however I managed that, because I know you will beat the crap out of me for it." Hitsugaya was quick to finish for him.

"Okay. I wasn't going to go that far."

"But you would. You're still the same hot blooded guy I know." Hitsugaya replied with a knowing smirk. "Remember that time you chased down our history professor?"

"Geez Toshiro, don't remind me!"

* * *

"So Kaien, you're going on vacation for...?"

"Two weeks." He replied, "Two weeks to spend some time with the wife and kid."

Rukia and Kaien were walking down a hallway on the fifth floor of Seireitei Tower. Rukia was always told by her brother to keep a close eye on this floor. It belonged to his rival, Sousuke Aizen. And the last time she checked with Renji, they were still at a rough stalemate. Kaien always had his guard up here as ordered by his boss, but truthfully, Rukia didn't really mind this floor. The people were nice and they don't disturb anyone in the tower. Aizen was a pretty nice guy so she didn't know why her brother detested him so much. Also, Aizen's assistant was possibly an angel in her past life as Rukia got along best with Momo Hinamori.

Then, Ichigo came up in her head. "So…your nephew Ichigo…he's really something."

"Yeah. He's a very sweet kid. He may seem a bit rough on the outside, but he's a softie on the inside." Kaien remarked. "He and his sisters used to visit their aunt and uncles after school. After his mother passed away, Ichigo wanted to grow up fast. He was actually my first trainee."

"Him?" Rukia quizzically stared at him. "He's a cop now. Guess he didn't turn out to be the businessman you trained him to be."

"Yeah. Like any kid at that age, he didn't care for it. We gave him a bunch of odd jobs and paid him under the table. It started small, like a hundred yen for every letter he delivered, until he held a part time job throughout high school. He's a hard worker."

"Huh…" Every time she brought him up, she always learned something new. He was interesting.

And since they were on the fifth floor, they ran into the boss and his assistant of course.

"Director Kuchiki! How are you?" Hinamori exclaimed.

"Momo!"

"Director Aizen." Kaien gave a respectful nod. "How are things?"

"Things are going well. I've just finished an investment deal with Gin Ichimaru. You met him before? He's a great guy. Also, Director Kuchiki, I understand you're doing a deal with the ME office. I would also like to contribute since our public offices do need an extra hand here and there."

"Wow Rukia! Did you hear that? Isn't Director Aizen so generous!" Hinamori beamed with excitement.

Rukia smile at his offer. "Thank you. I'm sure they will be pleased to hear that. Also, Kaien is going on vacation soon so now may be the last time you see him."

"Oh!" Aizen turned towards Kaien. "I hope you have fun. Where are you going?"

"I'm flying out to Seoul, South Korea in a few days. Miyako's been wanting to travel there for a while."

"Well hopefully the little one doesn't mind flying. I recommend supplying an airplane's worth of ear plugs." Aizen suggested. "I need to leave a little early today. I have some work to do at home. Momo, can you handle the floor today?"

Hinamori chirped, "Yes Director!"

"Rukia, I'm heading up to the sixth floor to speak to your brother. Do you have anything for me to report?"

"Nope. I'm good." Rukia waved good-bye. "And if I don't see you, have a great vacation!"

Kaien waved and he vanished into a nearby elevator.

Almost immediately, Hinamori grabbed onto Rukia's hand and dragged her to another elevator. "Oh come with me! We haven't had lunch in a while. Let's go to Urahara's Shop for some sandwiches." Which she promptly dragged her to in a span of ten minutes.

"Whoa Momo!" Rukia said, surprised at her forward personality. "You seem very chipper today."

"It's because Director Aizen has been taking good care of me lately. He took me out to lunch last week." Hinamori replied as she blushed pink.

"You seem to like him very much."

"Oh no! It's not like that!"

"Sure…" Rukia chuckled at her friend's crush.

"So…how's working with Director Hitsugaya? Has he gotten on your nerves yet?"

"The little guy can get a bit cocky at times." Rukia remarked back. "I'm in this deal with him and I couldn't handle being the middle man between him and this doctor. I just gave Dr. Hibana his number and let her deal with it."

"Dr. Hibana? You mean, Dr. Naori Hibana!?"

"Yeah. You know her?"

"She is Toshiro's ex-girlfriend!" Rukia spat out her water.

"What?" That means…all those times she mentioned her name…all those times his eyes seemed to flicker at the name. "That guy knew the doctor this whole time. How come he never told me?"

"Who knows. Knowing Toshiro, it's his privacy." Hinamori shrugged. "I wonder how the meeting went."

* * *

Rangiku Matsumoto sat down in a comfy maroon couch as she waited for the doctor to come back. The office was very simplistic. She had a table, chair, computer, filing cabinets, couches, and a table for her visitors. She was, in some ways, similar to Hitsugaya, but overall, she was different. She was more colorful, as opposed to Hitsugaya's black and white scheme. But Matsumoto could tell one thing, she was organized and serious about her work.

Finally, the doctor came back with the tea.

"Dr. Hibana, thank you for the tea." Matsumoto took a sip. It was a simple green tea, one of Hitsugaya's favorites. "Now I understand the initial meeting didn't work out for the both of you hence that's why I'm here in his stead. Director Hitsugaya is very busy."

"I understand. I apologize for the trouble you have to go through."

Matsumoto smirked, "I know. I went through so much trouble to set up a date between past lovers only to be ruined in seconds."

"Past…" The gears in Naori's head started to turn. "Wait? Who are you and how do you know?"

"I work under him. I know a lot of things. Like his older sister who told me everything."

"Momo Hinamori?" It's been a while since she'd seen that woman. Naori admitted she had a soft spot for her. In fact, it was because of her that she started to really fall for Hitsugaya. "However you may have found out, this is not the case we're discussing here. We need to talk about your inventory."

"Yes, Daiguren Tech inventory that we've been discussing with the ME department for a while. This would have been easier if your Chief Medical Examiner was here to discuss with us."

"The Chief has been busy. Deputy Chief as well. We have a lot of cases that come in and out of the morgue. Some of these cases have been murdered so it keeps the police department busy as well. They don't have time for this so that's why they assigned me to deal with you." Naori curtly replied.

"Adorable and fiesty…Is that where he got it from?" Matsumoto remarked. "Now I see why the Director likes you enough to keep a photo of you on his desk."

"What…? What are you talking about? He doesn't like me. He made it very clear when he broke up with me."

"But people change."

"I met him for ten minutes. He proved to me he hasn't changed."

"Ten minutes is not enough time. But you wouldn't know because you keep running away from him." Matsumoto stared into her golden eyes. "But judging the way you're looking at me, you're running away from something else. It's something that's attached to my director."

Naori perked an eyebrow. "What do I have to do for you to stop digging into my past?"

"Talk to my boss about this deal. He's the only person for this job of yours. And stop running away from him and yourself." Matsumoto said as she picked up her stuff and stood up. "Oh and by the way, the folder contains all of our inventory. Circle what you need and bring it back to us. We can sort out the paperwork from there."

Naori kept to herself and allowed the woman to vanish from her office. She merely smirked and picked up the folder. That guy certainly didn't hire Matsumoto for her looks. But something still bothered her. Hitsugaya still kept parts of her with him. He still remembered her? When Naori decided to transfer to Karakura, she completely forgot about him. That was her promise to herself.

"Izuru Kira," she called for her partner, her Medicolegal Investigator. "Do you need any new toys?"

Matsumoto exited out of the building and jumped into a grey car. "I did as promised Director!"

"Alright. Here." Hitsugaya handed her an envelope of cash. "That should be enough for a day at the spa."

"Kukuku!" Matsumoto giggled as she placed the envelope into her bag. "By the way Director, I don't understand why you want her to sign the papers specifically with you. I could have done it with her. It would have been easier."

"I know. But I have some unfinished business with her."

"Unfinished business? You broke up with her." Matsumoto chirped, "All business is done when you guys separate."

"I didn't break up with her. We broke up because we didn't work. It was sudden." Hitsugaya sharply said. "Keep digging into my past and I'll stick you with the paperwork you're supposed to do."

"Okay Director. Shutting up now." Matsumoto grimaced at his sudden rude attitude. He definitely had the same dry tongue as her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Naori silently sat at the back of the public bus while staring out into the passing Tokyo streets. Today was a bright, sunny day. Mothers were walking with their children and men were walking their dogs. Others included people rushing to work, people going out shopping, and couples enjoying their dates. They were all happy. And here she was, heading into her nightmare first thing in the morning. She finally got off at a stop near the center of Tokyo and went through a maze of buildings. She didn't like the bustling part of Tokyo. It was too much. Her office was located more near the suburbs.

She finally found the Daiguren Tech building and went in. And to her luck, she ran into the vice president.

Matsumoto smirked as she greeted the little doctor. "Hello Dr. Hibana! Director Hitsugaya will be on tenth floor."

"Thank you." Naori smiled, but she secretly wanted a bus run the vice president over for making her come here.

She went into the elevator, flew up ten floors, and marched right into Hitsugaya's office. "You've summoned me? Here are the papers. Sign them so I can get out of here."

The director was amused how his ex walked into his office and tossed her papers onto his desk. She was defiant. She didn't even look at him. She was staring off at a corner, arms crossed against her chest, and biting her rosy lips. "Your manners seem to have decreased over time. You don't even greet me? It's Director Hitsugaya here."

"Director Hitsugaya," Naori said again with a roll of her golden eyes. "Can you please sign those forms?"

"I'll sign them…" Hitsugaya pushed the papers aside. "After I talk to you. Take a seat."

"I'm not interested in talking to you. I'm interested in getting those papers signed." Naori narrowed her eyes at him. What game was he playing? Even though she hadn't seen him in a long time, she knew how he worked. This man was always prepared. He had a plan. He was too smart. That's how he got so successful with Daiguren Tech.

"Here's the thing Naori."

"Dr. Naori Hibana." She corrected him. "If you're going to make me use your honorifics, then I'm going to have you use mine."

"Dr. Hibana," He rolled his eyes. "You want some equipment from my inventory. Mass spectrometry, gas chromatographs or the liquid one, you take your pick. This is very expensive stuff and you want it for nothing. Tokyo's Medical Examiner's Office is very underfunded, I understand, but I'm trying to keep my company afloat."

"You have a partnership with Kuchiki Group. You're skyscrapers above the red."

"But my roots come from nothing and even though my company has enough funds, my employees and I get paid virtually nothing. So doing you this favor is a huge hit on my end and I'm only complying because of Kuchiki's insistence. It might actually put me in the red for a while." Hitsugaya explained as he found himself getting closer to Naori. He knew how this girl worked and how to break down her walls. Even though she had an uncaring front, once he got close enough, he could unlock the shy side of her. "So I could, at least, get to know my client. Naori, have a seat."

"Fine." Naori backed away from him and sat down on one of the leather couches. This was pretty comfortable, definitely better than the couches in the her office. He's probably lying on getting paid for nothing.

"So…" How was he going to start this? It's been nearly five years since he last seen her. "How have you been?"

"Fine."

What a curt response! "So…medical examiner? Last time I checked, you wanted to be a pediatrician."

"Things change when people change. When I moved environments, I discovered new paths for myself. It's a jarring change between Tokyo University and Karakura Community. You go from a prestigious university to a college near the ghettos of Tokyo." Naori explained as she looked over the giant office. "And I see you accomplish your dream of creating a tech company, being your own boss, and playing with your toys that all have potential to change the world."

Yeah, she had some insults hidden in those statements. Something about Hitsugaya that always turned her off was how pretentious he got after the break up. He was always raving about the new and incredible things he was doing and that he was so busy that he couldn't even text her. She thought it was a defense mechanism on his part to protect him from his pain. It still pissed her off.

Toys…? "Why does that sound like you still hate me?"

"I don't hate you." Naori tried to smile. "I'm just pointing out your dickish qualities."

"Naori… Look. In the past, I may have not treated you as well as I should have, but it's been five years. We've both changed. I may have been a 'dick', but I'm not that guy anymore."

"Yeah, I'll give you that." Naori shrugged. "And I'm not the same crybaby from those five years. Now am I as gullible as I was back then?"

"You say that but look what happened the last time I saw you. Why did you run away from me that night?"

"I didn't expect you. It's something I instinctively do. You wouldn't know since only I had to go through shit."

He gripped onto the leather of his chair. She really knew how to get under his nerves. "Why are you making yourself sound like you're the only victim? I went through some tough shit too. I just knew how to move the fuck on!"

"Yeah, I know. You made it perfectly clear five years ago and it's still pretty clear now." Furious and fed up, Naori grabbed her bag and stood up. "I don't know what you wanted to get out of talking to me. But if your goal is to piss me off, then you're doing a good job. I did not come here for this."

This wasn't going anywhere. He might as well end it now. "Naori! Look, it's been five years and I don't want our first conversation together to end like this." Hitsugaya stood up and grabbed the papers. "I'll sign these for you. Just don't leave my office like this."

She blinked, somewhat surprised that he caved in so easily. During their arguments, he would usually argue back and then call her mean, degrading names and then leave angrily. Now, he wanted a peaceful compromise?

"Alright," Naori replied and walked up to him, nose to nose, not even bothered by the sudden closeness. "Please do that. I'll get my funds and equipment and you'll get your many praises from the public office. We go our separate ways and live our separate lives as we always had."

"Naori…"

She clicked her tongue and turned her heels. "Director Hitsugaya, good bye." And she got out of that office faster than a hot potato leaving Matsumoto's hands.

Once Naori got out of the building, she immediately collapsed in a heap against the marble walls. Wow! That was probably the longest she lasted against him. She nearly tried to run a few times. She didn't know why or how, but he always made her heart beat too fast for comfort. So Naori tucked her dark blue hair behind her ears and quickly ran to the closest bus stop. She needed to leave and get back to her office.

When she left, Hitsugaya stood by the entrance of his office, watching her. She still had her sassy personality even after all these years. He found himself smiling a little as he closed his door. Or…he almost closed his door but Matsumoto took it upon herself to take her lunch break in his office.

"Matsumoto!"

"So Director, how did the talk with her go?" Matsumoto asked as she took a bite into her baked potato.

"Not good. But we got our partnership settled. That's what matters." He should try to stop hurting her like what just happened. He didn't want to see her cry.

"So you're just going to let her walk away? You're not even going to try to catch up?"

"I guess not. But it's for the best."

* * *

Rukia found herself at a bar after work where she sat down at a booth and ordered a beer. As she sipped on her drink, she went over her current work files. She was always working, even when off the clock. She liked her job too much sometimes.

Currently, she was going over the paperwork signed off by Hitsugaya and her brother. The partnership went through successfully. One good thing happened today. But she wondered how those two exes managed to get this done. Then again, she and Ichigo get along alright even though they argued at each other a lot. Maybe those two are the same.

Finally, the man who called her down here arrived. Ichigo slipped into her booth and ordered himself a beer. "Sorry Rukia, were you waiting long?"

"No. And I know how to busy myself with work." Rukia lifted her paperwork.

"You work too much." Ichigo stated as he drank from his beer. "Don't you have a phone or a tablet to waste time on? Watch a TV show? Listen to music?"

"Not interested."

"And that's what I mean when I say you have a stick up your ass." Ichigo remarked and that earned him a kick under the table.

"Shut up. I'm productive. You're not. That explains why you came here late." Rukia shot back. If she was counting the time, he was a good fifteen minutes late. And he was the one calling her out tonight. "What were you even doing?"

"Let's see… At around six o' clock, I had to deal with the Yakuza crowd because of a gang shooting that happened a few days ago. Kenpachi Zaraki probably has a bounty on my head by now. Case is still unsolved in case you were wondering. Then, I had to go home to say my good-byes to my uncle since he's leaving tomorrow morning. And then, I had to drive here where I got stuck in traffic. And now I'm here."

"And you're still fifteen minutes late."

"Did you not hear what I just said?"

Rukia laughed at his two second freak out. "I'm just messing with you. Now I know why Dr. Hibana does it. It's too much fun."

"Shit…maybe I shouldn't have introduced you two…" Ichigo grumbled. But now that Rukia mentioned Naori, he realized he should bring something he learned. "You know, Naori is actually affiliated with one of your coworkers."

"She is Director Hitsugaya's ex-girlfriend. I know that." Rukia replied with a shrug. "I learn to just leave stuff like that alone. They can deal with their problems themselves."

Wow. She seemed a bit cold about the situation. Then again, Rukia was the ice princess he met those few years ago. He sometimes thought she couldn't empathize with him. But she would prove him wrong at other times like the time she talked about her sister.

"I know that. I can't help but feel bad. She's a close friend."

"I believe she can handle herself. Hell, if she can mess with Director Hitsugaya like she does with you, that will be amazing." Maybe if Hitsugaya was off his game from his ex would make work easier for her.

Oh, she has way too much confidence. Ichigo awkwardly tried to change the subject, "So…why'd you call me over?"

"I can't have company to go out for drinks?"

"I know. That's kind of a thing for friends."

"Are we not friends?"

"Close friends. I mean, we are somewhat friends but I barely know you. What about your other friends?" Ichigo tried to explain. As far as he was concerned, this was starting to look like a date.

"My other friends?" Rukia mumbled as she traced the opening of her bottle. She had friends. They were from work. Some of her friends became her coworkers. And then, some friends were forgotten. "Renji Abarai, he's a bit busy since he runs the entire Kuchiki Group along with my brother. He and I grew up together on the streets. Orihime Ishida, she's a bit busy on her honeymoon. Momo Hinamori, she has too much work these days. You seem like you were free."

So she summoned him because she was bored? That sounds plausible for a lonely girl like her. Then again, he didn't mind spontaneously meeting up with her. She was interesting.

"Renji Abarai. He was your friend back since childhood. So how was growing up in the streets?"

"How do I say this? Terrible. We slept in public parks, benches, cardboard boxes, you name it. We wouldn't eat for days. When we had the money, we could only spend enough for a hamburger. Renji always took care of me. He's my best friend." Rukia nostalgically remembered how close Renji and her were in the past. Renji would always make sure she was fed and hydrated before he even thought of himself.

"So how did a kid like him end up working alongside your brother?" That guy would probably be the second most powerful man in Tokyo.

Well that was a success story to tell. "When my brother adopted me, he also put Renji through school as a sign of gratitude. Renji worked hard to rise up the ranks. Now he stands right next to Byakuya. In fact, I met you because of him."

"Really now?"

"Yeah. He thought I needed to get out and enjoy life. So he called up some buddies and set up a blind date for me." Rukia also remembered how she wanted to strangle him for pulling her into this. "So, how did you get roped into a blind date?"

"Some buddies from my department set me up. They thought I needed to loosen up on the job and a girl in my life would help." Ichigo remembered how he slipped some laxatives in their coffee the next morning after the failed date.

Rukia chuckled even in the middle of her second beer. She should have done that too!

As their drinks continued, so did their conversations. Rukia learned that Ichigo did karate as a kid and he used to get beaten up by his own partner. He also did a lot of side jobs in high school so he could do random things like waiting tables, being a secretary, nursing, and other things. Ichigo learned that Rukia was put on an heiress regiment once she was adopted. She knew classical art and music, playing the piano, dancing, and multiple languages. She could speak Japanese, Chinese, Korean, German, and English! She even took up drawing and tried to demonstrate… Her art looked like shit.

Soon both of them had alcohol, they decided to walk all the way back to their apartments instead of driving. Rukia lived in a penthouse apartment in one of Tokyo's towers so Ichigo was bringing her home first. At first, Rukia protested as she can take care of herself. Then Ichigo pointed at his gun and his very sober mind frame. He was more than okay so he took it upon himself to watch for Rukia. Then, lips started getting looser from Rukia's end.

"So…why did you become a police officer again?" Rukia slurred as she tried to maintain her stance.

"I don't know…I wanted to protect people. I have a family to protect after my mom died in front of me."

"Oh…I'm sorry…"

"It's okay. You told me about your sister so we're even." Ichigo waved off her apologies. "Karakura Town is a safe town, but it has it's bad parts. My mother got caught up in a turf war. Because she died to protect me, I took it upon myself to do the same. That's why I can't have you walking around drunk."

"I'm not drunk!"

"Sure you're not." Ichigo rolled his eyes. "We're here. Go back to your apartment and get some rest."

"It's pretty late. You should sleep over. I have a guest bedroom, you know!"

"Okay, we're friends. But we're not that close. I'll pass." Ichigo replied and turned around. "Good night, little ice princess."

"Good night carrot head," Rukia replied with a smirk. "Ichigo!"

"Yeah?"

She smiled. "I'm glad we're friends now."

"Me too."

* * *

 _I uploaded two chapter because I went back to school and I don't have time to write. Hope you enjoy these chapters! Read and Review!_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The next morning, a distress call came into the police department. A morning jogger witnessed a car being driven very erratically before it crashed into a road wall under a bridge. As many as four police cars were dispatched to the situation. Two were meant to seal off the area while two were to investigate the car and victims.

And then, the Medical Examiner's Office dispatched one of their doctors and a medicolegal investigator. These two just arrived at the scene. Naori came out with a bag displaying her badge and Izuru came out with a camera.

"They crashed into a wall after losing control of their car. We have two victims, a man and a woman, both deceased. There was a baby in the backseat of the car and he's reported to have no injuries from the crash. He's been transported to a nearby hospital." Izuru reported as they walked up to the wreckage.

"Tragic." Naori simply replied. A family was basically destroyed this morning. That baby will never grow up with his parents. This happy couple will never enjoy being a family. But she was assigned to this case. On the job, she needed to remain as objective as possible. That meant she couldn't show her emotions. Naori pulled on her rubber gloves and began her investigation. "Izuru, start taking pictures of their bodies. Do we have an ID?"

"Yes. Their names are Kaien Shiba and Miyako Shiba." A detective produced the IDs. He was a spiky haired officer with strange tattoos on his face.

Naori tried not to react to these names. Doing so would throw her off this case.

However she was working with a different detective for this case. He wasn't Ichigo though as he seemed calmer and less hot blooded to solve the mystery. "Who are you? And where's your partner?"

"I'm Shuuhei Hisagi and my partner, Kaname Tosen, is still questioning the witness."

"Okay. I'll be examining the bodies before you move them." Naori went back to her investigation. She would find any lacerations, puncture wounds, and fractures for her partner to document. Her initial investigation would provide some leads for the detectives before she did the official autopsy. "Major fractures in the skull for both Kaien and Miyako, most likely due to the impact. A large laceration on Kaien's shoulder. Some prominent glass shards are imbedded in Miyako's head, neck, and shoulders. And their bodies indicate they died on impact and rigor mortis is setting in."

"So is this deliberate or an accident?" Hisagi questioned.

"Not sure." Naori stood up and removed her gloves. "Autopsy's in two hours."

"He's quite different from Ichigo. That guy would have demanded cause of death by now." Izuru commented as he got into the car with Naori.

"Izuru…" Naori replied with a serious tone. "Whatever we do, we must not let Ichigo know about this…at least, not now. The two victims are his aunt and uncle. I can't have him causing a scene while I'm working on this case."

"Understood."

However, she didn't extend her advice to the two detectives on the scene, who proceeded to talk loudly of their case back in headquarters. Ichigo was just working on some paperwork when he heard Tosen and Hisagi discussing from behind him. There was a car crash in the morning and two people were dead on the scene. That was enough to alert him. Uncle Kaien left this morning…

Tatsuki noticed his frantic behavior. "Ichigo…where are you…?"

"I need to check something out." He had to check if the bodies were who he thought they were. And he really hoped he was wrong.

Ichigo quickly gathered his things and left for the one place he knew the bodies would be located. He drove as quick as he could, even putting on the sirens to clear through traffic. He finally made it to the Examiner's Office where the only guard seemed to be frantic doctors that were trying to block his path.

"Out of the way!" Ichigo pushed past them and got to the windows of the morgue. He could see the two bodies very clearly. He couldn't believe it. Kaien and Miyako were stripped naked and lying down on cold steel tables. Their eyes were closed and their bodies were lifeless. Both of their chests have been cut open and the organs were in the process of being pulled out. And the doctor that was in charge was none other than… "NAORI!"

"Shit." Naori ordered Hanataro to continue working as she ran out of the morgue. She raised both of her arms, fully intending to block Ichigo from advancing any further. "You can't go in there."

Ichigo roared, "Naori! Kaien and Miyako are in there!"

"We are in the middle of an investigation! You go in there and I'll have someone arrest you for disrupting my case."

"Why didn't you tell me about this? Don't you think I should know?"

"As of now, you are a family member, not a detective. You need to stay out of the morgue until I give you permission to look at the bodies."

Ichigo scowled as he could do nothing right now. But he was going to make his word clear. "If your investigation discovers that this is a homicide, I will stop at nothing to be on this case. I don't care if it's against you or anyone else. I will find whoever did this to Uncle Kaien and Aunt Miyako."

"You take that up with your superiors." Naori doubted that would happen. Ichigo had two liabilities because he was family to the victims. Plus, he was a detective that required an extra set of eyes trained on him in case he did something sporadic. There was no way his superiors would allow him to be even close to this case.

* * *

"What…?"

Rukia felt a part of her died the moment she received word of the car crash. She felt her ears going numb, so much that her assistant's words felt deaf to her ears. They were supposed to have a family vacation. They were going to have fun as a family. Now, there were two deceased parents and a baby who will never remember he had parents.

"That will be all." She murmured and sent her assistant away.

She wanted to be alone. However, it was still her job to report to her brother about the incident. She was the person closest to Kaien in this workplace. So she got into an elevator, went down six floors, and walked right to her brother's office.

"Rukia?" Renji remarked as he watched her randomly walked in. "What are you doing here?"

She didn't answer him.

Rukia went through the thick wooden doors and approached her brother. He noticed her presence, but kept his focus on his work. "Head Director, there has been tragic news concerning Kaien."

"He and his wife were involved in an automobile accident." Byakuya replied back. "I knew after the news came on. Their son is presumed alright and he's under our insurance. I'll handle things from here."

As always, her brother was on top of things. Even then, she couldn't be more grateful that he was trying his best to help them. "Okay…thank you Head Director…"

"It's nothing." As usual, a very curt and short response.

She bowed and quietly left. But soon, she found herself hidden in the bathroom and tears suddenly appeared. She hugged herself and cried her heart out, knowing that she would never see him again. He was dead. Kaien was no longer part of this world. He and his wife just vanished from her life. She hated it. She absolutely hated it.

It was just supposed to be a vacation. The family was supposed to have their first vacation together. Her two favorite people were gone. Now the baby no longer had a mother or father. What have they done wrong to deserve death? Who chose this path for them? She couldn't believe this! She just couldn't believe it!

"Rukia?" A knock on the door broke into her thoughts. It was her best friend, Renji. "Rukia, are you okay in there?"

She wiped off her tears. "I'm-I'm fine."

"No you're not." He immediately replied, "I know how important Kaien was to you. And I know you're devastated, but you don't want anyone to see the Kuchiki heiress cry. But I knew you before Director Kuchiki picked us off the streets. It's okay. You can let it out to me."

"Renji…" Rukia wiped off more tears and stood up. "I'm going to be fine. Just give me a minute."

"Rukia, I'm serious. I'll even drive you back to your apartment." Renji insisted. "Just let me help you."

Suddenly, the bathroom door sprung open and the young woman wrapped her arms around her best friend. She buried her face into his suit, hiding from the gazes of her coworkers, and just let the tears flow out.

Renji lightly patted her head and gently whispered, "It's okay. It's going to be okay."

Hitsugaya watched them from afar before leaving the two friends alone. He didn't really know Kaien Shiba other than the tech deal from once upon a time. What interested him was the automobile, specifically what caused the car accident. Kaien drove a smart car that was capable of self driving. Daiguren Tech assisted in developing some components for the car.

He dialed Matsumoto's number. "Matsumoto, bring up our 2017 files for the Autocar203."

"Yes sir!"

"I want everything for our components as well. We have to make sure our company is not liable for this mess and whoever did this is caught quickly. Understood?"

"Yes!"

* * *

"Ichigo…" Orihime worriedly watched as her friend downed another beer. "Ichigo. I know you're upset, but getting drunk at two in the afternoon won't help you."

"I can't believe that bitch told my supervisor about Kaien. If she didn't know, then I would be on that case right now!"

"Don't call Naori that. She's just looking out for you."

"How!? If it were me on that case, I would be out hunting for whoever did this! Tosen and Hisagi are just sitting around and my uncle and aunt are dead on that bitch's table."

"Naori knows you best when you're on your job. She knew what consequences may have come up if you were on the case right now. Just give it some time. Maybe your superiors will change their mind?"

Ichigo scoffed and ordered another beer. "I doubt it. Soifon's a bit of a hard ass when it comes to the rules."

Orihime reached out and pulled away the beer. "You can be as upset at the world as much as you want, but I'm not letting you destroy yourself. You have people here for you. Chad's rushing here as fast as he can and my husband will come once he's off work."

"Thanks, but friends won't bring my family justice."

She frowned. "We can't do much. But we can bring you back to your senses and stop you from doing anything reckless."

"Listen to her Ichigo." Suddenly, a new face appeared in the bar. "Getting drunk early? It must be my lucky day!"

"Very funny Tatsuki." Ichigo grumbled and faced her. "What do you want?"

"I want to make sure my partner isn't making my job hell." Tatsuki snapped back, "Do you remember the time you nearly killed one of our witnesses?"

"That guy protected a man that raped his sister! How could you not want to wring that guy's neck!?" Ichigo growled and stood up, facing his partner. "You want to go?"

"Remember how I used to kick your ass? I'll do it even today!"

"Guys…please don't fight…" Orihime nervously tried to stop this, but her friends' had such fiery tempers. She couldn't stand her best friends fighting each other.

"Just don't." Her husband warned as he walked into the bar. "I rushed here as soon as I could. Orihime, honey, it's amazing you kept him calm for this long."

Tatsuki scoffed and spat out her gum. She took Orihime by the arm and led her out. "You boys handle this one. Orihime and I are taking a walk. It's been a while since I've seen my best friend. Right Orihime?"

"Of course Tatsuki!"

Uryu watched the women leave before turning to his fuming friend. Ichigo wasn't drunk even after downing three beers, but he had a volcanic, murderous rage about him. Orihime was the first to come to his aid so she must have faced the worst. And she calmed him down to such a level. She's a brave one. Uryu adjusted his collar and sat on one side of him while Chad sat on the other. He draped his arm over his friend's shoulder.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you. I just want you to know that we're all here for you."

"Yeah…"

"In my opinion, no one deserves to be on this case more than you. Right Chad?" Uryu glanced up to the giant man beside them, who simply nodded in reply. "See we're all on your side."

Ichigo sneered, "Not Hibana. Not even my own partner."

"Hey, even Naori will turn around. And Tatsuki…she wants to be on this case too. But she also knows that you turn into a flying-rage demon-monster so logically, it's best you stay off this case for now."

"Now better not be for long." Ichigo muttered. He raised his glass, but a hand quickly grabbed it and drank the rest of the contents.

"Hey!"

"If you're getting fucked, then so am I. That's what partner's are for." Tatsuki grinned.

Orihime came back with a smile. She tamed yet another beast.

"Besides, you and I will be on that case in no time. Hisagi and Tosen are good, but they're not as good as us. We are the best investigators in Tokyo. I already have a few leads." She cheekily said.

"What?" Ichigo couldn't comprehend how she was already solving this. They had access to no evidence.

"You see, after you and Naori had your little argument, I tried to get in. She turned me away too, but our Naori is sloppy. She left the body in full view instead of covering up so I could see a few clues."

"Tch." Ichigo smirked. And that's why they were partners. "Alright then, let's get to work."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, a small memorial began to grow where the accident took place. Flowers, candles, pictures, and prayers were left behind in hopes to send Kaien and Miyako to heaven. The Kurosaki family came out for this occasion. Yuzu was in tears while Karin showed no sign of emotion. They came with flowers and a family picture, which were their respective addition to the memorial. Ichigo decided to go with them for support. It was the least he could do for them since even they couldn't see their dear uncle.

The Kurosaki/Shiba family did their best to accommodate the loss. Kaien and Miyako's son went into Kukaku's care. Yuzu reworked her class and work schedules in order to help care for the baby. Karin sent some money won in her soccer matches to buy supplies and other things for the baby.

And then, Ichigo had been trying his hardest to find the culprit. He and Tatsuki had a few leads, but they couldn't do much follow up without further evidence. And the primary evidence, the bodies, were inaccessible due to Naori's control. However, a saving grace came that day.

"Ichigo…" Yuzu tugged her brother's sleeve. "Isn't that your friend?"

He glanced up and saw a raven haired woman. "Rukia?"

She glanced up as well. "Ichigo…"

"Yuzu. Karin. I'm going to talk to her. You guys alright getting back?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about us. We're not kids." Karin replied with a smirk.

Ichigo left his sisters and walked up to Rukia. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to pay my respects to the deceased." She placed down a bouquet of flowers. "I'm so sorry for what happened to your family. Are you doing well?"

"Yeah…for the most part. Right now, we want to focus on figuring out how to raise the kid. Kaien and Miyako didn't cite anyone for godparents. Kukaku and Ganju offered to house him, but they aren't exactly kid people. Yuzu's been stepping up to take care of him. It won't be her first time."

"If you guys need any assistance, don't hesitate to call me. I want to help Kaien after all he's done for me."

"No it's alright." Ichigo shook his head. "Kaien had a lot in life insurance so we have enough for now. And everyone is pitching in to support the kid. We'll get by this."

"Hmpff! You're talking to an heiress of a conglomerate company. Kaien was one of our greatest employees so we should respond with gratitude." Rukia crossly shot back. "My brother has set up a trust fund for the child. And I will personally contribute to the best of my abilities."

She seemed to have made up her mind. There was nothing he could do to stop her. He wasn't a fan of handouts, but he'll let it slide this once. "Okay. You do whatever you think helps."

Rukia lit up, happy to know that she was of some help.

"Actually…" An idea sprung in his head. "There is something you can do. Since you work with him, can you tell me about Kaien's work life?"

"You?" Rukia was momentarily confused. Wasn't it those other guys who questioned her that other day? Was Ichigo on the case? "Are you on the case too?"

"Um…not exactly…" He would be if it weren't for a certain someone…

Rukia noticed his demeanor changed, like he didn't like someone in his life. It seemed like he really wanted to be on the case, but there was an obstacle. "Is something blocking you from the case?"

"Yeah…Remember Naori?"

"Oh! Dr. Hibana! What did she do?"

"She told my supervisor that I was family and advised that I stay off the case. And she's been pretty adamant on keeping me off the case." Ichigo ranted in frustration. "I don't know why she's being like this. She knows I'm the best cop for the job and I'll be making more progress than Tosen and Hisagi. They've just been interviewing people with no leads."

"Maybe she had reasons?" Honestly, Rukia didn't know. But she found it strange that a pair that worked so well together suddenly became enemies.

"I can't think of any."

"Well, she worked with you for so long. She knows you have an uncontrollable angry side. I saw that many times in our solo date together." Rukia remarked with a scoff.

"I know how to work with it. You haven't seen me on the job."

Rukia raised an eyebrow. She doubted it.

"Besides you haven't seen Naori on the job. For her, it's just a job. She doesn't care who it is on her table."

"She's professional."

"And none of us has seen the body yet."

"Okay…that's a little harsh." Rukia glanced at the sisters. "Not even Yuzu and Karin?"

"Nope. Just the investigators." Ichigo breathed out a long sigh. The investigation was going too slowly. The investigators were taking forever and nothing was getting solved. And Naori didn't have the heart to let anyone see the body. "I'm so frustrated these days. Now my sisters' are upset with this situation and I can't do anything."

Rukia's expression softened. It was a stressful situation indeed. "Just give it some time. Things will get better."

"Yeah. I hope so."

"So…you wanted information about Kaien at work?" She chuckled a little when he perked up from those words.

From afar, the two sisters watched the two walk away into a nearby park. Yuzu was delighted that her brother was getting close to a woman.

"Wow! Ichigo has been getting pretty close to her. We might have a new sister soon!" Yuzu cheered.

"Geez. Leave them alone." Karin cracked a smile.

"Excuse me."

A new voice caused the twins to turn around. They saw a man with spiky and soft white hair, sharp turquoise eyes, and wearing a gray suit. He came bearing a candle in his hands.

"Is this where the memorial is for Ichigo's uncle?"

"Y-Yes!?" Yuzu managed to answer. "Umm…how do you know our brother and uncle?"

"Oh. I'm a good friend of Ichigo and I used to work with Kaien." He reached out a hand to the twins. "I didn't introduce myself. I am Toushirou Hitsugaya."

"I'm Yuzu! And this is my sister Karin."

"Hello. Nice to meet you." Karin glanced at him. His name sounded familiar. "Excuse me. Are you related to Daiguren Tech?"

"I'm the CEO."

"Wow! You're so young. Aren't you college aged!?" Yuzu exclaimed.

"I went to college with your brother." Hitsugaya flatly replied. There's the young comment. "I skipped a few years, but yes, I'm in my twenties. By the way," He glanced at Karin. "How did you know about me?"

"I've seen your company logos at my soccer matches. Are you a soccer fan?"

"Oh! I used to play in high school. Not so much nowadays, but I thought why not give back to Tokyo University."

"Oh. That's cool!" Karin smirked. "Well make sure to support me when I make the national team!"

A sweat dropped down from his forehead. "I'm not that loaded."

* * *

Weeks after the investigation started, Naori was bored at her desk today. She got the evidence she needed from the bodies. Both Kaien and Miyako died upon impact as judged by the fractures. She recovered a few prints and marks so she sent those to Tosen and Hisagi. But nothing was getting done!

So here she was, scrolling on her Facebook to pass the leftover time. She finished most of her autopsies for the day so she was free to do anything at work. But a photo caught her eye. It was Karin posting a selfie with a soccer ball. She remembered Ichigo's sisters. Yuzu, she remembered well because she worked along with her. Karin would occasionally visit and bring them lunch. Naori liked the photo, but noticed someone else on the list of likes.

"Toushirou…Hitsugaya…"

Since when did they know each other? Maybe it was through Ichigo. That would make sense. She tried not to get too curious. It's none of her business. It's really none of her business what he did. She closed Facebook immediately. This website was dangerous…

So Naori did the next best thing for her frustration. She picked up her phone. "Hello Captain Soifon, this is Dr. Naori Hibana from the ME's office. I'm calling about the bodies left in my morgue for weeks now. Has the case been progressing well?"

"I don't know. Those two haven't reported back to me."

"Well get back to me if there is progress. I would like to make room in my morgue." Those two investigators have been getting on her nerves. She didn't like the lack of progress at all. If this was Ichigo, he would have finished by now.

So did Ichigo introduce those two…?

Naori shook her head. Is this jealousy? She hated this. She needed to stop freaking out. He just clicked a button on a computer. It means nothing in the end. She wasn't even friends with him on Facebook! Then again, she blocked him after the break up…

And yet, she felt uncertain with herself. It's been a while since she felt this way…

* * *

"Ichigo!" Tatsuki tapped his orange head with a file. "Captain's calling for us."

"Huh? I didn't do anything wrong. What does she want to yell at us for this time?"

"I don't know. Just get in there." Tatsuki would rather not start work by getting lectured by Soifon.

They went into the office and the first thing Soifon did was throw a file onto the table. "There's your new case. It's against protocol but I can make an exception for Ichigo."

"The Kaien case?" Tatsuki exclaimed. For Soifon to cave so easily, it was amazing. "Even with Ichigo's family relation?"

"Yes. I'm making an exception since you two are the best on my team. We need this case taken care of soon." Soifon crossly replied. "Well, what are you still staring at me for? Get to work!"

"Yes ma'am!" Both of them quickly shuffled out.

Tatsuki glanced at the files in her hands. "Well, you got what you wanted. We're on the case! Let's see…here's their information, the evidence…Ichigo? Where are you going?"

Her partner was already putting on his coat. "I'm going to see my uncle and aunt."

But first, he had to go share the good news with someone. He called up Rukia and asked her to come along. She would want to see the body of her mentor as well. At first she was confused, but she went along with it. Soon, they appeared in front of the medical examiner's office.

"Well, well, well. I think I can see the body now." Ichigo remarked when Naori arrived.

"Wipe that smile off your face." She flatly replied. "I just got notice that you're the new investigator on this case. I'll prepare the body. Did you read my notes?"

Beat. "No…"

"Coming unprepared. Why am I not surprised?" Naori sighed. "Where's Tatsuki? I see you brought Rukia, but she isn't allowed to see the body…"

"Unless given permission by the family." He knew the rules very well. And he was going to get down to the bottom of this. "Naori, can I talk to you in private?"

"Huh?" But he already dragged her away and into the office.

"What's been going on with you? You're not this uptight!"

"I'm just following the rules."

"A bit too much."

Naori scowled. "What's wrong with me doing my job? You and I worked together before. You know how I am."

"It's a bit too much." Like she was very mad at him. Sure, he cussed her out, but he made sure she never got wind of that. So why was she pissed at him. "Did I do anything to piss you off?"

"No. Nothing's wrong." Naori sighed. Maybe she was overdoing it…it's childish to take out her anger on her friend. "The body is in the morgue. You can go in first. I'll get some paperwork done with Rukia."

As he left, she received Rukia right afterwards. She already had the proper paperwork. They were mostly confidentiality agreements saying that Rukia cannot tell anyone about the patient. As Rukia signed them, Naori couldn't help but be curious.

"So…are you two close?"

Rukia coughed. "What?"

"I hear many things. Apparently, Ichigo's been meeting you a lot."

"It's a coincidence! We're friends." Rukia insisted.

"Friends. Sure." Naori didn't seem convinced. It's not her life so she didn't dig too much. "By the way, you're going to have to keep an eye on Ichigo now that he's on the case."

"What?"

"Tatsuki can keep him in line most of the time, but she's not going to be with him 24/7. He sometimes gets too passionate about his job." He'll need someone to hold him back. "Also, he's going to be in more dangerous situations now that he's on the case."

"Dangerous? Isn't this a car crash incident?"

"You may never know. It could be a homicide. It could be affiliated to gangs. Or maybe someone holds a grudge over his family and he's the next target."

"It was a car crash…"

"You never know." Naori replied with a smirk. "So…was Ichigo mad at me?"

"He was. He thought you were being unreasonable." Rukia replied, "You know, you can be a little bit nicer. He's going through the rough time right now."

"He's strong. He doesn't need to be coddled. Take me for an example." Naori scoffed. That's his fiery personality right there. She was just doing her job. "You're done. You may go see the body."

Rukia silently left the office and into the waiting area to enter the morgue. She found Ichigo waiting for her. "Is Dr. Hibana always like that?"

"Sometimes she can get snappy. I guess she's in a bad mood today. Ignore her." Ichigo waved off. "Do you think you can handle this? I brought you here because you were close with him."

"It's okay." Rukia gave a small smile. "Thank you…for letting me see him."

Just a little bit, she fell in love with his kindness.

"Ichigo!" Tatsuki suddenly ran in on the two. "I finally caught up with you! You missed out on some key evidence!"

"Evidence!?"

Tatsuki nodded. "A fingerprint."

* * *

 _Back home from school and that means, this fanfiction is being updated! I know that I don't update often but a couple reviews would be nice to see. Just to know how I am doing with this story and if anyone even likes it. Review!_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Tatsuki glanced at her interrogation questions, up at the suspect, and back again. The detective couldn't look at the young lady in the eye… She seemed terrified, unsure, and worried.

Hitsugaya slammed open the door of the interrogation room despite the opposition of many police officers. He managed to shake off an officer clamped on his arm and another holding down his shirt. He ran up to one half of the golden pair of Tokyo Police Department. "Tatsuki! Where is Kurosaki!?"

"Mr. Hitsugaya. I understand that you're upset, but you can't be in here."

"Why is Momo a suspect?" Hitsugaya angrily yelled. "It's impossible! Momo would never hurt a fly! She can't be the murderer!"

"Mr. Hitsugaya. Please calm down or I'll have you escorted out."

"Then tell me why she is in there?"

"Director Hitsugaya…Her fingerprints were found at the crime scene." Naori hesitantly answered. "Detective, would you mind if I take him out?"

"Go for it. We need to work."

Hitsugaya waited for her to drag him out the hallway before losing it. "Naori! What the hell is going on?"

"Momo's fingerprints were found in the interior of the car. She could have tampered with machinery and it led to Kaien's death."

"Do you believe it?"

"What?"

"Do you believe that she could have done it."

"Hitsugaya, I wish I didn't…but the evidence is too convincing."

"Naori!" Hitsugaya barked, scaring the girl a bit. "You've known Momo just as long as me. You know she'll never do something like that!"

"No I don't Hitsugaya! I only knew her because I was with you. Other than your sister, I don't know anything about her." Naori shot back. "She could have done it! Right now, we have evidence backing that up."

"Why aren't you fighting for her? You didn't fight for Ichigo and you knew his relationship with Kaien! You've been rude to his family, to Yuzu and Karin. And now, look at the way you're treating Momo! She's your friend! Momo's been worried sick about you ever since we broke up!"

"Shut up! You think I like doing this!? I'm just doing my job and I have to follow the law!" Naori screeched back at him.

"But you don't have to be a huge bitch to these people! And that's what you are right now to me: some bitch who's been nothing but rude to me, my friends, and my family."

Naori wanted to yell back at him. But she knew this was another fight between them and what usually followed was more fighting and yelling. Things would escalate and one of them would end up in tears, usually her. So she bit her tongue and ran past him.

Hitsugaya couldn't even look at her as she ran past. He did it again. Even after so many years, he hurt her again. But right now, he could care less about her. All he wanted now was for Momo to be safe.

"Toshiro!" Ichigo quickly found him in the hallway, narrowly missing Naori. "Toshiro! There you are!"

"What happened to Momo?"

"It's okay. She's still a suspect, but the evidence is too weak to incriminate her. Out of the entire car, there's only a single fingerprint. Do you know what that sounds like?"

"Someone framed her."

Ichigo nodded. "Exactly."

"So what happens to her now?"

"Are you Momo Hinamori's guardian?"

"Yes! I'm her brother!" Hitsugaya quickly answered. If it was Momo, he would always protect her.

"Her bail will be posted soon…tomorrow at the earliest. I suggest that once she's out, she keeps a low profile until this case is resolved. I can let you talk to her briefly right now." Ichigo motioned for him to follow.

"Thanks Ichigo…" Hitsugaya glanced up at his friend, and someone he could call an ally. "Ichigo, what do you believe? Do you think she's your guy?"

"No." Ichigo immediately replied. "No motive. Weak evidence. And timelines don't add up. Whoever tried to frame her did a shitty job of it."

"Well they just fucked with me." Hitsugaya darkly said. "You better find whoever did this to Momo."

"You don't need to tell me." Ichigo led him to the interrogation room. "I'll be outside if you need me."

Momo Hinamori glanced up at her new visitor. Her face was wet as if she had been crying throughout her interrogation. Her bun became quite messy and her makeup was slowly wearing off. But what Hitsugaya noticed most was that her right hand was handcuffed to the table. He hated that. He wanted to grab Ichigo and demand for her release from those shackles. But there was nothing he could do besides to sit down and listen to her.

"Lil Shiro…"

"Momo! Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?"

"Shiro! It's okay!" Hinamori replied, trying her best to calm him down. "They didn't hurt me at all. I was treated very well…even though…" She sheepishly looked at her shackled right hand.

"Momo! As far as I am concerned, you are innocent. Someone tried to frame you, make you take the fall."

"But-but who would do that to me?"

Hitsugaya was stumped on that one. Who did not like Hinamori and Kaien enough to set this up? "I don't know. But one of my best friends is the main investigator. He'll definitely find out who's behind this!"

That seemed to ease Hinamori a little. "Alright, I'll trust you."

Hitsugaya nodded with confidence. "Ichigo Kurosaki is one of the best investigators in Tokyo. He'll figure this out! I'm sure of it! But in the meantime, you need to stay low. Once your bail is posted, I'm getting you out of here and taking you somewhere safe."

"Lil Shiro…"

Hitsugaya clicked his tongue. "I let it slide because of the situation, but call me by my first name right now. People are watching us…" By people, he meant Ichigo. There's no way he's letting his former roommate know of his embarrassing nickname.

"Ah…" Hinamori gave a small smile. She knew people were watching her interrogation. And she could sense a familiar person was behind that one way mirror. "Toshiro…Naori Hibana was here too."

"How-How did you know?"

"I don't know…you always seem to act a little different when it comes to her." Hinamori replied with a giggle. "When we were little, you would always act bashful or scared whenever it came to her. Nowadays, you just seem more irritable about her and I can tell you came in here in a bad mood."

After a long pause, Hitsugaya finally sighed in defeat. "You are always too observant…"

"Naori…how is she?" Hinamori noticed that his expression dropped once she asked the question.

He quietly responded, "She's doing fine…"

"Something happened between the two of you." Hinamori quickly concluded, easily trapping her little brother. "Toshiro, I'm not easy to fool. Tell me the truth."

"Naori…she and I have talked a few times. Sometimes, it was purely business between us. Other times, it was personal about all the stuff that happened between us. And all those times, she either gets mad at me or really upset and she runs away. I just don't know what went so wrong that she's like this."

Hinamori's eyes softened. He was very upset. He wouldn't show it to anyone…only to his big sister. "You miss her, don't you?"

He did. He missed Naori very much.

He missed the girl who smiled for him, who cheered him on his journeys, and who would make him happy just by being there. Back then, she was everything to him. It was a ridiculous and childish thought, but that was what ran through his mind as a young teenager. And when the break up happened, he couldn't believe that he was the one to break it off. He hated himself for doing that. And when she disappeared without saying a word, he couldn't forgive himself.

And now he found her again after all these years. And she hated him still.

"Let's just say…I haven't stopped thinking about her after our break up. You noticed I never really dated after her."

"I understand Toshiro…you want to see her again, but it's too difficult for the both of you. That's just how exes are." Hinamori sighed. "But if you care about her so much, why don't you try to figure out why she is acting this way?"

"I tried! She won't tell me!"

"Toshiro…if she won't tell you, it must have been a traumatizing experience for her. She won't talk about it because she probably doesn't want to relive that again." Hinamori explained, "You have to approach this situation with precision and treat her with care. The bond you two share is very fragile and can easily be broken."

The second Hinamori said that sentence, Hitsugaya wanted to face palm himself. He just remembered what he did to Naori before this. It looked like Hinamori noticed his change in demeanor.

"Toshiro…what did you do?"

"I called her a 'bitch' today…"

"Toshiro!"

"She was supporting the idea that you could be the suspect! And it pissed me off and I went off on her!"

Hinamori groaned, "You need to learn to understand the situation form her point of view. She is working on a case that requires no suspect overlooked. Even I can understand that…given that the prime suspect at the moment is me. And you calling her that name is not fair for her. She did nothing wrong as far as I am concerned."

As always, she was right…

"I know now…"

Hinamori nodded, "I think you owe that girl an apology."

"Momo, what about you?"

"I really can't go anywhere in my situation. I'll be safe. I'm in a fortified police station where no one can touch me in my private cell. Come back for me when my bail is posted." Hinamori instructed. "Also, I would like to talk to Naori for a bit when I get out of here. Can you do that for me?"

Hitsugaya nodded and stood up. "I'll go find her now. And I'll come back for you as soon as I can."

"I'll be expecting you two then."

* * *

Rukia sat at her usual bar, sipping on a margarita while waiting for Ichigo to show up. Although she was glad to see Kaien for one last time and Ichigo caught a lead that would lead him closer to the murderer, Rukia wasn't exactly happy at the moment. The suspect's fingerprint led to Momo Hinamori, one of her closest friends, so that made her slightly peeved. But Ichigo really reassured her that she was most likely framed so that eased her up. The second problem was after the Hinamori problem, when she was leaving the police station, she spotted Hitsugaya and Naori arguing with each other. Rukia could sense that tensions were high, but she maintained her distance and stayed in her own separate hallway. They kept arguing and Hitsugaya started yelling at her. It got to a point where Naori ran. She didn't spot Rukia as she ran past, but Rukia could see her…down to the tears that ran down the woman's face.

And so, here she was, waiting for Ichigo to see if he knew what was up. Soon, the orange haired man entered the bar.

"Ichigo!" Rukia greeted. "How is the case going?"

"Okay. Momo Hinamori is off the hook though, in case you're still wondering." Ichigo replied as he signaled for the usual beer from the bartender. He didn't really want to discuss the case. They just lost one of their main leads. "Bail's been posted. She'll be out tomorrow at the latest."

"Does she need any help?"

"Well…" Rukia may be his best bet. "You do work with Momo Hinamori. Any chance you can put together a timeline about her and see if she has an alibi or something? Kaien's car was tampered with about a few days before the incident. Could you get something around that timeframe?"

"Done." Rukia wasted no time agreeing to that. "What about her bail? Does she need me to pay it?"

"Nah. Toshiro's got it covered. He's her brother." Ichigo trusted that Hitsugaya was going to take care of her. She took good care of him when she was doting on him during their college years.

"Oh…about him…I saw him and Dr. Hibana together today."

Ichigo coughed a little. Oh no…this wasn't going to end well. "What did he do to her now?"

Hitsugaya did something to her before? "I couldn't hear much. They were arguing and suddenly, Naori ran away and she was crying."

Ichigo sighed and drank more of his beer. "Leave them be. They have to figure this out themselves." But his face darkened. "But if Toshiro does that one more time, I'm not going to happy…"

"Were they close I guess and things didn't work out?"

"More or less."

"But still…" Rukia said, "It must be hard for her. She's been getting blows from him and you…"

"Me!?" That surprised Ichigo as he slammed his beer down. "Now wait a second! I'd never do that to her."

"Just the other day, you were yelling at her because she wouldn't let you be on the case and seeing the body issue."

"That was just me telling her to loosen up. She has done way worse to me on other cases besides this." Ichigo retorted back. "It just looked like I was angry at her because…"

"You have probably the worst temper I've witnessed." Rukia smartly finished back.

"Shut up!" Ichigo growled.

Rukia sighed as she leaned a bit on the counter. "I just hope she will be okay. I've never seen someone as composed as her just lose it."

"She'll be fine." Ichigo reassured her. "Because…I know Toshiro and he has a good heart."

* * *

Naori sat alone at the bar, located a few minutes from her apartment, and she took down sake shots after sake shots. For her small frame, she could surprisingly down a lot of alcohol. As she swallowed her shots, she was eating a basket of curly fries and onion rings drenched with hot sauce and cheese. At this bar, no one questioned her comfort food. But they knew when she ordered that specialized item, something horrible must have happened and she wanted no one to talk to her.

The blue-haired woman sank her eighth shot and finished off the last bit of her food. She didn't feel all that better, but she wasn't crying anymore. She was just drunk. But whatever, the alcohol should mitigate her apparent bitchiness…but maybe, they were right. She was being a bit too cold about the death of her friend's relative and the imprisonment of her exes sister. But she just hated being pushed around in her job and life so she had to be a hard ass and that was just how she worked now. And now Hitsugaya hated her, Ichigo hated her, and by proxy, Rukia and Hinamori also probably hated her. But it's not like this was the first time everyone turned against her.

So yeah, she had reasons to drink heavily on a Tuesday.

Naori reached for her ninth shot, but someone took it away from her.

"Naori. Stop." Hitugaya pushed the shot away.

"W-What? What you want?" Naori slurred, struggling to keep her eyes open.

Hitsugaya gave her a look. "How many have you had?" She was wasted, very wasted. In college, she could do six shots before hitting her limit…so she had at least six shots.

"Ten!" Naori cheerfully said, brandishing all ten fingers.

"Liar."

"Okay…eight…"

Hitsugaya gave his credit card to the bartender along with some cash for tip. "I'm taking you home." He picked her up and helped her walk to the door.

"Let go of me!" Naori wrestled away from him and pointed at her apartment. "I live right over there. I don't need help!"

"Walk in a straight line." He watched her teeter back and forth. "No you can't. I'm bringing you up."

"No! I don't need your help!" She protested again, nearly ready to cry. "Aren't I some bitch to you right now!? I did so many hateful things to you and your friends, why would you want to help?"

"Look Naori, I'm sorry I said that. But right now is not the time to discuss that. Let's get you back home and in bed-"

"Why do you want to help now? You didn't help when I needed you the most." She yelled back in tears. "When all of our friends turned against me, you did nothing! When I got so depressed that I stopped eating and sleeping, no one was there! When I became a loner, I stayed alone! Why? Because no one cared enough about me!"

Was she referring to their break up? Hitsugaya tried his best to calm her down. "Naori, listen! You got it wrong. Everyone was worried about you. They kept updating me about you because they cared enough to make sure you're okay."

"Yeah I know. I knew my horrible roommate was keeping tabs on me after our break up. I knew that she made me out to be a crazy ex-girlfriend. And I know your friends were feeding that lie to you." Naori cried back. "And I handled that alone! So this is nothing!"

She was crying as she tried to turn around and run up the stairs, only to slip and fall. Even worse, she landed face down. But she didn't seem to hit her head so she's safe. Hitsugaya picked the small woman up and carried her up the stairs. He eventually found her apartment, located on the 10th floor for some reason, and placed her in bed.

She made a groaning noise and tossed away from him, creating a burrito in her sheets. It brought a slight chuckle to Hitsugaya. No matter what, she was always her cutest when asleep. And she always brought him to his knees whenever she started crying. He even nicknamed her 'Crybaby' and teased her back then, just to hide that fact.

But he didn't realize the extent of her suffering back then…was it really that bad? That thought stewed around in his head as he loosened his tie and collapsed on her couch.

* * *

 _Still alive! Not too much Ichigo and Rukia. This and the next chapter are very Naori/Hitsugaya-centric. Their story comes from a more personal part of my life so I have more to write about their parts. Ichigo and Rukia would be developing a new relationship, which I haven't gotten around to yet...oh well. That's life._


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Naori woke up the next morning with a pounding headache that made her want to throw up. She couldn't even fathom how she managed to get back to her apartment! There were ten floors to climb with no elevator. Naori breathed into her hand and took a whiff. She grimaced at the overwhelming smell of cheese and hot sauce. Yep…she definitely had the Flaming Cheese Wagon last night. That would need two swigs of mouthwash to get rid of the stench.

It was still pretty early. Work hasn't started yet so she took a shower and got ready. Naori was walking down the hallway of her apartment when she suddenly noticed someone moving on the couch. What? Was that the person who brought her back? As nice as that was, she didn't give him or her permission to sleep on her couch!

Naori slowly inched towards the couch, stirring the man asleep on it.

"You have to fix the creak of your wooden floors. I can hear you from your room." He grumbled as he got up and cracked his neck. "You have a super uncomfortable couch."

"Toshiro…did you…"

"Yes." Hitsugaya replied back, "I found you after tracking your phone to that bar located very conveniently near your place. And then, I carried your drunken self up all ten floors and made sure you were okay."

"Oh…um…thank you…do you want breakfast?" Naori nervously offered. He did all that to rescue her, it was the least she could do. She awkwardly blushed and made her way to the kitchen. "What would you like to eat?"

"You don't have to."

"Of course I do, you took care of me last night and…" She cast her eyes down. "I can make up for Hinamori-"

"Stop." Hitsugaya quickly interrupted. "Look we both said things we shouldn't have. I'm sorry for what I said. And you're not obliged to make up for what you said."

She paused in her preparation. He did it again. He was the type of guy that would forgive her easily and take the blame. That way, he was protecting her. He always did that for her back then, it spoiled her. She felt her cheeks grow hot again. "So…omelets, bacon, and toast sound good?"

Hitsugaya cracked a small smile. "Sure…do you have any water?"

"Um yeah!" Naori got a tall glass and tossed it at him. "You can get ice and water from the fridge."

"Thanks."

Naori started heating up her pans and cooking eggs and bacon. Hitsugaya merely sat down at the kitchen booth while sipping on water, staring at her, or reading the news on his phone. They were both silent and busy, but they enjoyed the mutual silence.

Sometimes, she would look back at him to see what he was doing. He looked quite unkempt with his creased clothes and messy hair. Then again, he just got up from sleeping on her couch. But she never really got a good look at him until now. All of his features were sharper like his eyes and his chins. He was taller and lankier, but there was evidence that he worked out a lot. He grew from a baby-faced boy to a man who still had a baby face.

He was bachelor material. If she had to guess, he probably dated some girls after their break up. But if they didn't break up, they would be living like this: a young married or unmarried couple living together. Back in high school, when they were going through a happy honeymoon phase, she would often imagine this married couple scenario. She would be making food for the husband and kids, watching them leave for their day, and she would leave for her day. Then, they would all come back for a dinner together. They would tuck the kids in and have the rest of the night to talk to each other.

That was her perfect life…that she kissed goodbye to long ago.

* * *

Rukia thumbed through the papers that Hinamori signed the day before Kaien passed away. That woman did quite a lot of work for her floor! Did Director Aizen even have work left to do? Rukia managed to put together a timeline of what Hinamori was doing for those day and Ichigo could match it up with information he got from Hinamori's information. But so far, she got a good enough outline done that would equate her to a stalker.

Momo Hinamori was a hard worker who adhered strictly to her 9-5 job. She was always on time, carried out all of Director Aizen's requests, and handled all of his business. At exactly 12 o' clock, she would leave for lunch, which she would usually bring a packed lunch to the lounge area of her floor. Sometimes, she would go out to eat with her friends or her brother. After her work, she would hang out with her coworkers, go to dinner with them, drink, visit family and friends, or went home and relaxed. A few days before Kaien's car tampering, she did her usual job schedule and then she went out for dinner with some college friends, went to see a movie with her coworkers, and went home. So far, she had a sealed timeline that anyone could alibi her out.

And now she waited patiently for Ichigo to arrive to confirm everything.

An orange haired man came into her office along with his partner. Ichigo was his usual gruff self while Tatsuki was a woman on the job with a clear goal in her mind.

"Ichigo. You go talk to your girlfriend while I scope out everyone else," Tatsuki ordered.

"Sh-Shut up Tatsuki!"

His cheeky partner merely winked and left with a wave of her hand. "I'll see ya, Ichigo!"

Rukia looked up from her paperwork once Ichigo sat down. He was blushing a little, somewhat from embarrassment and a little from watching her work from afar. She nearly felt herself blush, but remembered that they were at work and they have face to maintain.

"So how's confirming that timeline I sent you." Rukia asked to change the awkward mood.

"Pretty good. Momo Hinamori can't be the culprit because she hasn't been anywhere close to the car when it was tampered. Right now, Tatsuki and I are scoping out for potential suspects in your company."

Rukia nodded. "Okay. I'll let you know if there is anything suspicious regarding my employees. And also…" She remembered the day that she caught Hitsugaya and Naori fighting. "How is Dr. Hibana doing?"

"Fine. I think things are settled between them."

Ichigo remembered how today's morning went. He found Naori, hard at work and slightly hungover, as she was slaving over a body. She seemed embarrassed to talk to him and she tried to apologize for her behavior. But Ichigo knew she had difficulties owning up to her mistakes, so he took it easy on her. It seemed like Hitsugaya knocked some sense back into her.

Rukia sighed in relief. "That's good."

"You seemed a bit too interested in their story."

"I don't know…how can I not? Toshiro Hitsugaya is my coworker and I am in a close partnership with Dr. Hibana."

"And I work with Naori and Toshiro was my former roommate. I guess we're both weirdly connected to their drama."

Rukia simply shrugged. "I guess we both deserve it. We are the reason they met each other again. But it's a good thing we have nothing like that going on between us."

Ichigo gazed into her violet eyes. She was looking at him with a quizzical look, but also with a mysterious intention. Was she expecting something from him? He wasn't ready for this. He quickly coughed and changed the subject.

"So…Momo Hinamori? How have people been treating her?"

"They've welcomed her back with open arms…but…" Rukia glanced at a sign that listed out the floors and the directors that rule over each floor. The fifth floor was where Hinamori worked and headed in Aizen's stead. "Director Aizen decided to put her on paid leave."

"Oh…"

"Everyone was devastated, but it was expected. There's still a chance that Hinamori could be the murderer and everyone would be uncomfortable working with a suspected murderer. So she was sent away while all of this is going on, for the benefit of her and everyone here…that's what Director Aizen said." Rukia explained to him. "She left today."

"At least she's safe." Ichigo pointed out. "By the way, not taking your opinion too seriously, who do you think did it?"

"W-What?" Rukia stammered. Why would her opinion matter? She had no idea how detectives or police officers did their jobs.

Ichigo shrugged. "I'm just seeing if there are any leads. Did Kaien have enemies? People he didn't like? Talk to me."

"Well…" She shifted her eyes around. Everyone was a listener now due to the murder case. "The first person that comes to my mind is Director Aizen himself. Since he's a competitor to my family's company, we always think he's up to something. So far, he's done nothing really suspicious. Then there's Gin Ichimaru. He's done some debatable business practices, most of which were surprisingly legal. But we think he's up to something and just hasn't been caught yet. That's all the rumor mills that run around here."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"In the end, I don't know." Rukia shrugged. "They're just rumors after all."

"Well thanks. That was pretty helpful."

Rukia felt hot air rise to her cheeks and looked away. "Don't mention it…really…"

Tatsuki loudly knocked on their door. "Hey lovebirds, Ichigo has to go now. Back to work, ya know!"

"T-Tatsuki!"

* * *

"Little Naori, it's been so long." Hinamori smiled at the young, nervous woman in front of her. They were sharing a brief get together before Hinamori needed to catch her train. She had a small suitcase at her side, packed with the essentials of the countryside.

Naori gazed at the woman. She was still as beautiful as she was when she visited home from college. At times, Naori wished she was her sister. "So you're really going back?"

"Just a little while. Director Aizen thinks it's better for me to lay low and let this mess die down. He's so caring!" Hinamori entered into her dreamy state. "Anyways Granny will be so happy to see me!"

"I'm sure she will."

"Hey Naori...I heard about what happened between you and my little brother." The doctor spat out her tea. "So are you guys back together again?"

"N-No! Don't be ridiculous!"

She couldn't hide her obvious blush, which Hinamori easily spotted. So both of still had the hots for each other...it was quite laughable. These two kids could figure it out. "Okay. I'll lay off of it. But..."

Naori glanced at her.

"Don't be too harsh on my Lil Shiro. That's all I ask." Hinamori checked the time. "Oh! My train is almost here!"

She quickly bid farewell to the girl and promised to catch up with her later. She ran across the street where Hitsugaya was already waiting for her at the platform.

"Are you absolutely sure you have everything?"

"Yes Lil Shiro. You don't have to worry so much about me, you know?" Hinamori cracked a smile and gave him a tight hug. "Do me a favor and take better care of yourself."

"I will."

"Also, be good to that young girl. I'm worried that your break up incident may be come back to haunt you."

"I can't promise anything." Hitsugaya waved goodbye and waited till her train left the station. She was going to be safe. Nothing could harm Hinamori in the countryside. He felt like a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

Hitsugaya walked out of the station and immediately spotted Naori hanging around. "What are you doing here?"

"I umm kinda just knew you'd be here…" She nervously replied, "We need to talk about last night."

"You drunkenly said some things about the past. I'm aware of that."

"I did some thinking…and I realized something. I never really got over you, no matter how many times I tried. And…I'm just ashamed of myself…that I still feel this way…"

She couldn't talk anymore. She just hid herself from him. But he would do the same. "Naori…I've done the same. Ever since you left, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I never gave myself the chance to move on…" She revealed all the rough times that happened to her, but he never told her about his struggles happening at the same time. "Ever since we met again, this relationship has gotten worse. Can we just try to be friends and nothing more?"

"Just friends?" She couldn't help but feel a pit developing in her stomach. "I don't know if it's possible. My feelings…your feelings…it will get in the way."

"I know. But it's the best for the both of us." It was the correct thing to do to salvage whatever bond they have. "It's not like you still want to be in a relationship with me."

Naori blushed much to his surprise. She admitted, " A part of me wants that…"

Hitsugaya sighed. "You know that's not a good idea. We are not the best person for each other. Look how drunk you got because of me. Look at the way I lashed out at you."

"Toshiro… "

"Look. As I see it, you're going to be happy in the end. You'll find someone better than me."

"What about you!?"

"I imagine the same for myself or I can live out my days alone." He shrugged. "As I see it, if we continue as we are now, we will end up repeating what happened years ago. Ever since we met again, it's been nonstop arguing. So let's change it now so we don't hit that stage again. I just want to see us both happy and living out our lives."

Naori tried her best to swallow the uneasy pain. "What if one of us can't?"

"Then, I think it's best that we just don't talk to each other." It sucked. But it was necessary. "We have to give ourselves the chance to move on. What we have right now is an extremely toxic relationship and I don't want to do that to you."

"Toshiro…I know it's stupid. But I just can't see that. It was the stress of the case getting to me that point. And the other time, I was drunk. But you still treated me fine." She suddenly remembered this morning where they were cordial enough to have breakfast together. Now here he was, turning all that around in a second.

She was always like that. She functioned through her emotions while he functioned through his brain. "I still care about your well-being. I'm not heartless. But I believe someone else could do that for you too. Someone better than me…"

"Toshiro…I feel like you're doing the break up again…" She could feel the tears coming, but she kept it together.

"I'm not. I'm just setting our boundaries before this gets out of hand." He replied. "You'll understand. Besides, don't you want to better yourself. Are you happy with the way things are? I'm still learning and I want to work on myself first."

"Aren't you happy with what you have. You own a company. You make enough money to live comfortably. You have friends. You're not trying to destroy yourself."

"And I still have a lot to learn in order to bring out my full potential."

Naori grimaced and looked to the ground. She always hated his ambitious nature. It occasionally made him come off as self centered and conceited. "Fine…we should lay off on this wreck of a relationship and focus on being friends."

He finally nodded in relief. For once, she didn't get mad at him. Wherever he brought up uneasy solutions like this, it pissed her off to no ends.

"And my first request as a friend, never lay that bullshit on me ever again." She grouchily lashed out. "Working on yourself. What does that even mean? It's just some cliche excuse people use on themselves so they can feel better. You should always have the goal of being better, not make it a goal. You're so stupid."

Yeah…she was extremely pissed. Good thing he was still level headed. "Look I may not have everything together and I accept that."

"Yeah I know. You never had your shit together. And I doubt doing this to me is going to help." She turned around on her heel and left without another word. She didn't want to talk to him. He just went and turned a perfectly fine situation into a terrible one. Selfish bastard!

Hitsugaya just watched her leave him. He really hoped this would be the right decision. It made sense in his head, but did it make sense in his heart?

* * *

 _Yeah the last part was a little bit too real for me. But relationships are never easy. Also, this ends the Naori/Hitsugaya part of the story and we can finally get back to Ichigo/Rukia. They're too busy with a case to solve._


End file.
